The Transitional National Government (TNG) of Somalia said talks with Ethiopia had been positive and meaningful. Deputy Prime Minister Usman Jama, who led the TNG delegation, told IRIN the talks had "opened up a new chapter" in relations between the two Horn of Africa neighbours. He said Ethiopia had agreed to perform "a positive role in the Somali reconciliation process". The TNG welcomed the assistance of all parties interested in "moving forward the reconciliation process" in Somalia, Usman Jama said. Improved relations between Somalia and Ethiopia would lead to a more "stable and peaceful" region, he added.

Usman Jama said a high-level Ethiopian government delegation would visit Mogadishu "within the next two weeks", to resume the dialogue started in Addis Ababa.

Usman Jama told IRIN that the TNG delegation did not meet members of the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), an opposition grouping of southern-based faction leaders recently formed in Ethiopia, who were reportedly in Addis Ababa at the time of the talks. But he said that the TNG was willing to meet with opposition representatives. "We will meet them anywhere, anytime, so long as it will help the reconciliation process."