Somaliland seeks UAE role against piracy

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Somaliland seeks UAE role against piracy

May 19th, 2011 Comments Off

 

DUBAI — The UAE being so close to the piracy infested waters and showing a willingness to tackle the issue head on, the authorities of Somaliland — the breakaway republic from the eastern Horn of Africa and one of the victims of the menace — are hoping to strike a fruitful deal with the emirates, which will help not only the two countries but the entire region.

The country, whose economy is largely based on livestock export, is struggling to keep its youth away from the lures of sea piracy and terrorism due to the lack of job opportunities and finances. However, it has large proven reserves of oil, gas and other precious metals, which it seeks to exploit with the help of regional giants like the UAE.

Though not officially recognised as an independent country, the tiny nation of four million people has been receiving favourable notice over the last few years for its stable democratic governance and fight against piracy.

The Somaliland leadership is proposing a joint anti-piracy shield across the region based on public-private partnership model and is willing to share with others its experience of keeping piracy at bay. They feel a secure and safe Horn of Africa would help make world a better place apart from creating more business opportunities.

Following their participation in the Anti-piracy Conference, which was held in Dubai last month, an official delegation from Somaliland, including its Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdallahi Omar, is on its first diplomatic tour of the region, with its mission to seek foreign investment in the country as a tool against piracy.

Khaleej Times caught up with the affable Mohammed Abdallahi Omar, following his meeting with the UAE leadership. Excerpts from the interview:

What brings you to Dubai?

We are here on our first diplomatic tour of the region. The UAE leadership has received us very favourably and we expect a lot to come out of this tour. We are seeking local support in fighting piracy and one way of doing it is to invest in our country. There are lots of investment opportunities for the local businesses, and many big companies have shown interest.

How is your relationship with Somalia?

Due to the lack of a central authority in Somalia, we have not been able to sit down and talk with them. We have been looking for an opportunity to have a meeting with their government and sort out our issues. However, in the absence of a government in Somalia, we have decided to continue to build our security, strengthen our democracy and improve our economy. But we are willing to talk to them and we hope there will be peace soon in Somalia because it is in our interest as well. We want to have good relationship with Somalia like we have with all our neighbours and regional countries like the UAE.

Even after 20 years of breaking away, Somaliland is not internationally recognised. Why?

One simple reason is the lack of government in Somalia, which hasn’t allowed us to talk with them. But we are hoping to have the recognition very soon as we are working very closely with the UN on a lot of issues, including the fight against piracy. The world is taking note of our democratic progress and as we grow further democratically and economically, we believe, recognition will follow.

Is the situation in Somalia affecting Somaliland?

Unfortunately, we are facing a negative impact of the situation in Somalia and that is why we want to have peace there as soon as possible. There are around 300,000 refugees who are living in camps in Somaliland and we are working with the UN to take care of them, but the situation is getting worse day by day. Another major problem is terrorism: the infiltration of radical elements from the other side of the border. We have a growing number of young people who are educated, but we do not have enough jobs and we are afraid the radical groups from Somalia would influence them. The only way to keep them away from the negative influence is to provide them with jobs and that is the reason why we are here to seek foreign investment and create job opportunities for our youth. This, we believe, would be a multi-edged weapon which would improve the economy, create jobs, and help ward off piracy and terrorism.

We have five universities, which produce more than 5,000 graduates every year, but we do not have enough jobs. These young people are very vulnerable against the assault of radicalism and unless we divert their attention and give them good jobs, we won’t be able to fight either piracy or radicalism. Investment would not only help us, it is in the interest of the regional and global security.

How have you managed to ward off the twin threats so far?

We have invested enormously in security systems and built a very strong police force, army and coast guard. We have prioritised securing our borders. We also have a number of successful partnerships with Ethiopia, Britain and the USA, which have helped us in fortifying our borders. These countries have helped us in building infrastructure and equipment as well as training.

Is there any foreign military presence in Somaliland?

No. We don’t need them. We have enough security forces who are capable of fighting any threat. What we lack is financial support, information system, intelligence apparatus etc. Though our security partners are helping us, it is not enough.

How are you looking to develop Somaliland economy?

Half of our four million population is semi-nomadic and a majority is dependent on livestock. Livestock is the backbone of our economy, which we export to the Gulf countries including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. But we have potential; there are huge reserves of oil, gas and gold, which have been explored and we are right now in talks with several countries, including the UAE, to exploit it. Another important asset we have is a strategically located port in Berbera, which connects landlocked countries like Ethiopia, South Sudan etc. with the rest of the world through the sea. We are developing the port and are looking at port operating companies like Dubai’s DP World to manage it.

What is your experience in tackling piracy?

Piracy is a regional issue, but most of it is originating from Somalia. However, in the past few years we have faced significant threats in this regard and have successfully rooted out all pirates operating from our shores. We have formed a special task force to fight pirates and have arrested around hundred of them who are currently serving sentence in our jails. But Somaliland alone cannot fight piracy and we need the region to step forward. We are proposing a joint anti-piracy shield through which all the regional countries can form a single task force and help share intelligence on piracy with others. We think this is going to be one of the solutions to the issue.

What is the response you have got so far?

Currently, the countries are studying our proposal, and they seem interested. The UAE has shown a lot of interest in helping fight piracy as well as investing in Somaliland. We have had preliminary discussions so far and we feel this will definitely go forward. What is heartening is the interest shown by private players which will help us form successful public-private partnership and we feel this is the practical way forward help solve

 

Source: khaleejtimes.com