A High Level Meeting on Somalia was held this week on Wednesday at the sidelines of the 71st Session of the United Nations general Assembly in New York.
The meeting was hosted by Somalia, Ethiopia, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Boris Johnson, UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, who was also the chair of the High Level Meeting on Somalia underlined that Somalia represents a growing hope with the buildup of a federal structure and the ongoing electoral process.
UK’s Secretary of State however said, “We must be realistic as the hard-won gains so far could be fragile,” to which he added this was a critical moment, one which required commitment and leadership from the federal government, while also reiterating the need for Somalis to develop own capacity to take on their own security.
He also said the United Kingdom remains committed to extend support to Somalia peace and stability, adding that his country will host a high level summit in 2017 in London with the hope to initiate a new international agreement on Somalia.
Indeed, Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to increase Britain's support for Somalia in the fight against militant group Al-Shabaab. In her maiden speech to the General Assembly in New York, Mrs May said that Britain had played a "leading role" in the fight against the militants.
She said the UK would send more troops to train local forces to fight militants, with some 30 training teams being deployed to Somalia, with up to 70 troops at a time involved in the mission. She added that no country had been "left untouched by global terrorism".
She said, “Since 2010, with huge support from across the region, and critically the commitment of Somalis themselves, al-Shabaab has been driven from all the major cities it used to control. It is vital that as an international community we continue to support countries in the region that are contributing thousands of troops, and that we continue to build the capacity of Somali security forces.”
The plan involves £7 million of funding to improve the skills of Somali and African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces on tasks ranging from tackling improvised explosive devices to building roads to help improve security in areas outside of the capital Mogadishu.
Somalia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Investment promotion, Abdusalam H. Omer said “Somalia is taking bold and historic step into the future,” noting that the country is writing a new chapter in history; a history he said was characterized with hope, inclusive government, ongoing process of democratization and the prospect of sustainable economic development.
The Foreign Minister however said the Country’s future will ultimately be determined by the Somali stakeholders and beneficiaries.
Touching upon the progress the country has made, Abdusalam the Somali national forces alongside AMISSOM have liberated most of the areas from Al-Shabaab that the group has now controlled only 10% of territory and Al-Shabaab’s ideology is being shunned by the people of Somalia.
He also said the upcoming elections will be held in accordance with the greed timetable and of course without further extensions.
Foreign Minister Dr. Tedros Adhanom who also addressed the meeting stresses, despite all odds and the daunting task ahead, “Somalia has made tremendous achievements in the process of promoting peace and stability.
He said Somali national forces and AMISSOM have recaptured vast sections of the country’s territory and “life is going back to normal,” adding “Somalia is now open for business.”
In all these, he reiterated the importance of upholding the major gains so far in store, moving forward with the ongoing process of state formation and keeping the momentum in the lead to the upcoming elections as well as embarking the exercise of ensuring inclusivity to all the regions in the country.
While commending the significant role of both the Somali national forces and AMISSOM in combating Al-Shabaab, he also underlined the need to establish a strong command structure within AMISSOM.
On the way forward, Dr. Tedros emphasized that building sense of ownership, and accountability and forging strong partnerships remain to be instrumental to help Somalia recover and build itself.
Source: MoFA