Very few countries have done what Eritrea has done for Somalia, says Hassan Sheikh

MOGADISHU, Somalia - President Hassan Sheikh has termed Eritrea a 'dependable brother' while acknowledging 'invaluable' support by the Red Sea country in Somalia’s long and difficult' state-building journey which is miles away from completion.

For three decades, Somalia has relied on friendly nations for support as it battles internal wrangles besides struggling with the Al-Shabaab menace which has left thousands of people including security officers and innocent civilians dead.

During his trip to Eritrea, Hassan Sheikh observed tremendous contributions from Asmara in training and equipping soldiers, who have participated in bringing order and stability within the country. The soldiers are deployed around the capital, Mogadishu.

Hassan Sheikh also maintained that Eritrea does not have 'interests ' in Somalia, perhaps about Ethiopia’s recent deal with Somaliland, which has caused an outage in the Horn of Africa. The deal would see Ethiopia getting 20 kilometres of land inside Somalia along the Red Sea.

"Eritrea is a country with historical brotherhood to Somalia. It does not have any interests in Somalia other than the brotherhood and fraternity of the country. We are very much grateful for their support," he said in an interview.

"Eritrea has ample experience in nation and state building as well as security. We want to share this experience with them. They trained and equipped our soldiers who were fighting Al-Shabaab. Very few countries have done what Eritrea has done for us and we are very much grateful."

Before Hassan Sheikh won the presidency, the relationship between Mogadishu and Asmara had been questioned by the opposition who believed soldiers undertaking training were being prepared to rig in Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed better known as Farmajo.

However, Hassan Sheikh has diverted his loyalty to Eritrea, which has proved to be a dependable player in regional peace and stability. President Isaias Afwerki has often pledged to support Somalia's stabilisation effort through 'actions'.

GAROWE ONLINE