Somalia: President Yusuf reaches London after UN speech 24 Apr 24, 2008 - 8:31:48 PM
LONDON, United Kingdom Apr 24 (Garowe Online) - Somalia's interim president has reached the United Kingdom after giving a speech at the United Nations headquarters in New York earlier this week.
President Abdullahi Yusuf's UN speech centered on the removal of a 1992 arms embargo imposed on the country following the outbreak of civil warfare in 1991.
Unconfirmed reports said a regional leader in northern Somalia has also reached London, with the hope of meeting with the Somali president.
Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Gen. Adde Muse, leader of the Puntland region in north Somalia, has been visiting foreign capitals in recent weeks, including Addis Ababa and Nairobi.
According to sources close to President Muse, the Puntland leader is being accompanied by foreign companies interested in exploring for oil in Somalia.
Muse's aim is to convince President Yusuf to officially sign onto a controversial 2005 deal awarding a large territory in Somalia to a small company based in Australia and its partners.
But that 2005 agreement has been shrouded in controversy from the onset, with locals worried that exploration attempts might ignite renewed conflicts in war-torn Somalia.
It is not clear whether or not President Yusuf will sign on to the agreement, but insiders suggested the Somali leader will not sign on to a deal giving a regional government exploration rights while the transitional federal government continues to face armed resistance in Mogadishu.
Earlier this month, Somalia's parliament Speaker, Sheikh Adan "Madobe" Mohamed, rejected the Puntland oil deal and indicated that the country's federal parliament is in the process of enacting a national oil law.
Source: Garowe Online
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