SOMALIA: President Hassan hosts EU Political Security Committee Ambassadors

[Dabrow]

Mogadishu 12 June 2013 – The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud hosted the first ever visit of the EU Political & Security Committee Ambassadors in Mogadishu. The Political & Security Committee (PSC) is the main decision-making body of the EU and comprises Ambassadors from the 27 EU Member States.

 

The President addressed the event saying “I am very pleased to receive you in Mogadishu on this first historic visit of the EU Political & Security Committee to Somalia. Welcome to the capital of Somalia. Your presence here today is indicative of the change that is happening here.”

 

The President thanked the EU for their unwavering support to the Government and the people of Somalia, which he said shows the commitment of the EU and their determination to see Somalia succeed in their recovery.

 

“The Somali nation and I thank the EU for its sustained and total support over the past few years. As things have got steadily better, you have increased your work with us to build on that confidence and maintain the momentum.”

 

The President also thanked the EU and its Member States for sending their Ambassadors to present credentials and re-establish diplomatic relations and hoped that soon a full fledged EU Mission will come to Mogadishu.

 

The President briefed the Ambassadors saying, “We have made very considerable progress over the past year on security sector reform, political issues, and rebuilding state institutions. But I am not under any illusion about the challenges that remain, and nor should you be. This is a job in good progress but with much still to do.”

 

Speaking on the upcoming Somalia Conference in Brussels in September, the President said, “I very much appreciate the friendship and the initiative of Baroness Ashton to co-host with me the Brussels Conference on 16 September. I have established a high level Task Force for the New Deal process and we will be launching consultations throughout Somalia to prepare the COMPACT that will be presented in Brussels. The COMPACT will provide my Government’s framework for the next three years in terms of our political, security and developmental priorities and I very much look forward to the engagement of your Heads of State and Foreign Ministers.”

 

The President also thanked the EU-ACP Council of Ministers for accepting Somalia’s bid for membership of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement on 7th June 2013 and said “This is a milestone of our cooperation and allows Somalia to join the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) family after 22 years absence.”

 

http://www.raxanreeb.com/2013/06/somalia-president-hassan-hosts-eu-political-security-committee-ambassadors-in-mogadishu/

[Dabrow]

Nairobi-The European Union's Political and Security Committee (PSC), the key body that contributes to define and monitor the EU's crisis response as part of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, made its first visit to Somalia.

 

The visit underlined the commitment of the EU to the new political dispensation and the people of Somalia, and the extensive support for the normalisation of the situation in Somalia both politically and in terms of security.

 

The PSC Ambassadors met with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the Federal Government. They welcomed the progress in the political and reconciliation processes and in the field of security and development, and discussed the challenges the Government is still facing to rebuild the country. The EU PSC reiterated the EU's continued support to creating peace, stability and prosperity in Somalia and in the wider Horn region. They encouraged continued consolidation of the peace and governance achievements. President Hassan Sheikh and the PSC Ambassador's underscored that "The New Deal for Somalia Conference", which will be jointly hosted by Somalia and the EU in Brussels in September this year, will provide a unique opportunity to galvanise the international community around the New Deal and the Government's vision up to 2016.

 

The representatives of the PSC also visited the EU Training Mission that recently moved from Uganda to Somalia.

 

Security remains a key aspect for stability in Somalia and the EUTM operation's move to Mogadishu is part of the paradigm shift of engaging inside Somalia and in close partnership with the authorities.