Somalia Conference in Turkey

Representatives from 54 countries gathered in Istanbul at the beginning of the month to discuss the situation in Somalia and think of ways forward for the country. The two-day conference - which follows the London neocolonial meeting in February - kicked off with discussions among senior officials, experts and businessmen on four key issues: water, energy, roads and sustainability. Abdi Dirshe was a delegate at the Civil Society gathering in Istanbul, a community and civil society initiative that aimed at evaluating and monitoring the Istanbul meeting. Abdi is a political analyst and the current President of the Somali Canadian Diaspora Alliance.

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Headlines: 0 - 16:22
Interview with Abdi: 16:23 - 40:21

We also interviewed Abdi in February regarding the Somalia conference in London, you can listen to that interview here

Somalia Conference in London and CAN finals

On Feb 23rd senior representatives from over 40 governments and multi-lateral organisations will come together in London for a conference that aims to deliver a new international approach to Somalia, but there is widespread criticism that this conference, which was organized without the input of Somalis themselves, is an act of neocolonialism and forced foreign rule. African Perspectives spoke to Abdi Dirshe, the current president of the Somali Canadian Diaspora Alliance. For more information on the Alliance or to reach Abdi, email him at: a.dirshe@hotmail.com

In the second part of the show we spoke with Farid Omar to get the final take on this year's Cup of African Nation's which was won by Zambia.

We start the show with headlines from the African Continent

Headlines: 0 - 15:10
London Conference on Somali with Abdi Dirshe: 15:11 - 43:50
African Cup of Nations 2012 with Farid Omar: 43:51 - end

Listen to this week's show here