A high-profile delegation headed by Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Salah arrived in Hargeisa, the capital of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, this morning.

The delegation will remain in Somalialand for a few days, a staff from the Somaliland presidential office told the BBC.

Mr Salah said he was sent by the president of Eritrea to find more information on how the Somaliland government functions.

This is the first visit from the Eritrean government to Somaliland since it broke away from Somalia in 1991. Its independence has not been internationally recognised.

Somaliland has been allied to Ethiopia, which was a bitter enemy of Eritrea until last year when the two countries normalised relations.