Eritrea: President Isaias holds talks with British Conservative Party…

Shabait..com – NEWS

15 April 2009

President Isaias Afwerki today received and held talks at the Denden Hall with a British Conservative Party delegation headed by Mr. Andrew Michel, who is the Party’s head of development cooperation.

The two sides conducted discussion on ways of fostering possible bilateral cooperation in the future and regional issues.

In briefings he gave to the delegation as regards the Somali issue, President Isaias pointed out that the reconstitution of Somalia should be achieved on the basis of internal capacity rather than external interference, and that conducive ground should be created for the entire Somali nationals to jointly discuss the country’s reconstitution. Indicating that the international community should only play supplementary role to the peace process being undertaken by the Somali people to resolve their issue themselves, he underscored that imposing so-called government that is not accepted by the Somalis is but impractical, unacceptable and destructive move.

The President further explained that the ‘government’ installed by external forces would not only fail to meet the aspirations of the Somali people but could not also bring about peace and stability. He elaborated that Eritrea has been advocating this stance for over 20 years.

As regards non-governmental organizations, President Isaias stated that although at first they used to operate in the name of providing humanitarian assistance, in due course they began not only to meddle in matters that do not concern to them but also sought to promote personal interest, in addition to trying to pose as a substitute for governments. In this respect, he pointed out that Eritrea wishes the creation of conducive atmosphere that promotes trade and investment rather than becoming the recipient of aid.

Mr. Andrew Michel on his part commended the President’s extensive analytical briefings regarding the Somali issue and said that Britain’s understanding as regards Eritrea’s stance in the Somali issue was limited and that the delegation members would work cautiously in the future.

Likewise, Lord Ashkroft, member of the Upper House in the UK Parliament, said that he agrees with the briefings of President Isaias regarding the negative practices of NGOs.

SHABAIT.COM – NEWS