Special envoy to Somalia meets interim president

The Sudanese special envoy to Somalia, who is also the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development special envoy to Somalia, Ambassador Ali Abd-al-Rahman al-Numayri, met the interim president of Somalia, Abdiqassim Salad Hassan, on Tuesday in Mogadishu, a senior official of Transitional National Government (TNG) told IRIN. Abdirahman Dinari, the TNG director of information, said the envoy had reaffirmed Sudan’s support for the TNG. The envoy, who arrived in the Somalia capital this week, had held talks with TNG senior officials on how best to complete the reconciliation process in Somalia, Dinari said, adding that Abdiqassim had assured Al-Numayri that the TNG would cooperate fully with him. Abdiqassim had also told the envoy that Somalia needed the joint support of all its neighbours to achieve lasting peace and stability. The Sudanese envoy would leave for home on Thursday, Dinari said.