Somali President Mohammed Said Barre arrived in Abu Dhabi on Friday (23 June) during his tour of the Gulf Arab States for talks on the situation in the Horn of Africa. The official U.A.E. news agency says the visiting President is also keen on restoring Arab solidarity weakened by President Sadat's Middle East peace initiative.

SYNOPSIS: President Barre was greeted by President Sheikh Zaid Bin Sultan Al-Nahayan in Abu Dhabi of Friday (23 June'). The one-day visit was the first stop of his tour of the Gulf Arab States, which have backed Somalia in its dispute with Ethiopia over the Ogaden Desert.

The Somali delegation also discussed the possible financing of economic projects in Somalia, with United Arab Emirate ministers. The Abu Dhabi Fund for Arab Economic Development promised to consider the unspecified projects after receiving appropriate details from the Somali Government. The trip came as the Ogaden region in southeast Ethiopia faced renewed fighting. Somali forces have claimed the capture of a strategic town. Somalia has been consistently backed by the Gulf Arab States in this dispute, and President Barre is believed to be seeking more economic aid from all of the States.

President Barre held two rounds of talks with Sheikh Zaid, before going on to Kuwait, and meeting Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah. Kuwait has called for a totally inter-African solution to the Somali-Ethiopian conflict without any foreign interference. Barre went on to the Emir of Qatar on Sunday (25 June) and held talks with Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al-Thani.