Mogadishu (PP News Desk) — The Somalia map displayed at the welcoming ceremony for the Turkish oil exploration ship at Mogadishu Port yesterday created unexpected controversy. The map that described the Somaliland administration as “self-declared republic of Somaliland”. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his Prime Minister, Hamze Barre, were at Mogadishu Port to welcome the Turkish oil exploration ship.
Today, the Petroleum Minister Abdirisak Mohamed assured people of Hirshabelle State that their regions were not excluded in the petroleum exploration zone. “The map was prepared before Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle merged to form Hirshabelle State” he said.
The Deputy Minister for Petroleum Mohamed Hashi Arabey said the company that had organised the event “ used an inappropriate map for the event”. President of Puntland State of Somalia Said Abdullahi Deni in a speech to Puntland Parliament today took issue with the map that marked out territories in Puntland as “disputed territories”.
The Federal Government of Somalia moved fast to rectify the cartographic error that seemed to convey the message that Somalia has broken up into two countries.
© Puntland Post, 2024
