Feb 09, 2010 at 09:40 PM
Hargeisa (Qarannews):- A delegation from Finland arrived on a visit to Somaliland on Monday, February 8th. The delegation is led by Mr. Simo Pekka Parviainen, Consular at the Finnish embassy in Addis Ababa, Ms. Pia Stjenvall, First Secretary at the Finnish embassy in Nairobi, and Mr. Riku Santaharju.
Speaking to the Somaliland press upon their arrival in Hargeisa, Mr. Pekka Parviainen stated "Firstly, we would like to thank the people of Somaliland for their warm welcome. We are here at the invitation of the government to see for ourselves the current political, security, economic, social and democratic conditions in the country. We would also like to meet with a cross-section of the Somaliland community from the political, social and business sector. As well as, evaluating the progress of Finnish sponsored projects in Somaliland".
One of the first meetings the Finnish delegation had was with the Secretary-General of UDUB, Mr. Omar Farah Jama. The delegation are also expected to meet with members of the Somaliland government, members of both chambers of the Somaliland parliament and senior officials from the two Somaliland opposition parties, along with the Somaliland National Elections Commission.
During their meeting with UDUB officials, the Finnish delegation confirmed that Finland has donated two million (2,000,000) Euros via UNICEF for various water projects around the country.
