Davutoglu holds bilateral talks with leaders at Somalia conference

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had a series of bilateral meetings Tuesday on the sidelines of an international conference on Somalia in London. Turkish diplomatic sources close to his talks said Davutoglu met with British Foreign Secratery  William Hague.Mark Simmonds, parliamentary under secretary of state for the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, who is also in charge of Somalia and Africa, also attended the meeting which discussed latest developments in Somalia and the horn of Africa. Davutoglu also met with Emma Bonino, Itay's newly-appointed foreign minister. Davutoglu congratulated Bonino on her new position, expressing his belief that outstanding relations between the two nations would improve further. The Turkish foreign minister also thanked Bonino for her country's support for Turkey's European Union membership with Bonino saying that Turkey-EU relations should advance to a better level. Meeting with Oman's Foreign Minister Yousuf Bin Alewi Bin Abdullah, Davutoglu called on Oman's businesspeople to invest in Turkey. Davutoglu, in a separate meeting with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, laid stress on the process of creating a national consensus in Somalia. Mohamud, on his part, said he appreciated Turkey's offer that the next Somalia conference be held in Mogadishu, the Somali capital. Apart from Turkey's support in political and humanitarian fields, security issues were also discussed in the meeting between Davutoglu and Mohamud. In a meeting with Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil el-Araby, latest developments in Somalia, peace process in the Middle East and developments in Syria were discussed. Both Davutoglu and el-Araby mutually emphasized that an attack in al-Bayda, a coastal village near the Syrian town of Baniyas, which activists said killed hundreds of people, was unacceptable. Davutoglu also met Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta. Both leaders pointed out that the trade between two countries was insufficient and that they need to engage in cooperation in technical issues and in education. Kenyatta also stated that Turkey's efforts in Somalia strongly helped restore regional stability.