The Minister of State for the Presidency of Puntland, Abdifitaah Abdinur, has said that Puntland will not return to the Consultation Conference, saying that a broader consultation is needed that is not limited to the Federal Government and the regional states alone.
Speaking to BBC Somali, Minister Abdifitaah Abdinur said that there is a need to politically resolve the existing differences, criticizing the platform for the Consultation Conference.
“The Forum left Puntland in December 2022. It left because of a lack of understanding – it was a result of the way the Somali leaders are approaching the state-building process. If there is no understanding, there is no point in returning to the forum we left from,” the minister said.
Abdi Fitaah pointed out that the forum cannot resolve the political issues at stake, and that a broader platform is needed that includes the participation of all different sectors of Somali society.
He said they are calling for the Mogadishu Consultation Conference to discuss the agendas proposed by Puntland and the International Community, which touch on security and inclusive politics to achieve elections.
However, the Federal Government of Somalia is holding a Consultation Conference in Mogadishu on May 5, which is expected to be absent from Puntland and Jubbaland.
