Jeddah: The State of Qatar participated yesterday in the extraordinary meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), held in the city of Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to discuss the repercussions of the situation in the Federal Republic of Somalia.
The Qatari delegation to the meeting was headed by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi.
In Qatar’s address to the meeting, he noted that the meeting was convened at a highly sensitive time, amid rapid developments that place a collective responsibility on OIC member states to defend the principles of sovereignty, respect for international law, and to safeguard security and stability in the region, the Horn of Africa, and the Red Sea. Al Muraikhi reiterated Qatar’s strong condemnation of Israel’s recognition of the “Somaliland” region, located within the Federal Republic of Somalia, as an independent state. He stressed that this constitutes a unilateral measure that contravenes the principles of international law and infringes upon the sovereignty, national unity, territorial integrity, and internationally recognized borders of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
He added that such an action represents a dangerous precedent that runs counter to international law, the Charter of the United Nations, and the Charter of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Al Muraikhi further emphasized Qatar’s full support for the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia, its firm commitment to its unity and territorial integrity, and its rejection of any attempts to undermine these constants.
He underscored that the “Somaliland” region is an integral part of the Federal Republic of Somalia and does not enjoy any international legal status, and that any attempt to recognize its secession is null and void under international law. This position, he noted, is consistent with the outcomes of the 15th Islamic Summit held in Banjul the year before last, which called for rejecting any violation of Somalia’s sovereignty.
