To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Ethiopian counterpart on Ethiopia's announcement that it will withdraw its troops from Somalia by 31 December 2008. (243874)

My noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Security and Counter-terrorism at the Home Office, Lord West, discussed Ethiopia’s withdrawal from Somalia during his meeting with the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, on 12 December 2008 in Addis Ababa. At the meeting, Mr. Meles confirmed that Ethiopian forces would withdraw from Somalia by the end of the year.