Tuesday, September 17, 2013
War ravaged Somalia has sought continued support from neighbouring
Ethiopia as part of ongoing efforts to maintain sustainable peace and
security.
Somalia, which is seeing a relative revival from decades of war, made
the request after Somalia president, Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, paid a
visit to Addis Ababa and held talks with Ethiopian Foreign Affairs
Minister, Dr Tedros Adhanom on Sunday.While commending Ethiopia’s
significant role in bringing peace and stability in Somalia, president
Mahmoud said Addis Ababa’s continued support remains key to achieving
national reconciliation and bringing about durable peace and security in
Somalia.
According to the office of Ethiopia’s foreign affairs
spokesperson, the Somalia president also lauded Ethiopia’s role in
regional peace building as well as “fostering economic integration
through developing regional infrastructure, trade and other social and
economic activities”.
At the occasion, the Ethiopian foreign
minister assured president Mahmoud’s delegation that his country as a
neighbor and as chair to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development
(IGAD) will continue to deliver the necessary support until sustainable
peace is achieved in Somalia.
Adhanom, who noted the existing
bilateral relation between Ethiopia and Somali as strong, underscored
Ethiopia’s keenness to strengthen social ties between the people of the
two countries.
It was noted at the occasion that ensuring peace
and stability in Somalia was a crucial contribution to ensure peace in
the volatile East African region as a whole and to boost development and
regional integration.
After holding the talks, the Somalia
delegation headed to Brussels to attend “the New Deal Conference for
Somalia”, a new strategy which intends to design ways to speed up
progress and facilitate reconstruction of Somalia within the next three
years.
As chair of the IGAD Council of Ministers, Ethiopia will
also take part at the conference represented by its foreign minister,
Tedros Adhanom.
The conference is being co-hosted by the European
Union and the Somalia government and is expected to endorse a "New Deal
Compact" that will enable Somalia - as a fragile state - to receive
financial, political and other socio-economic assistance from
international partners.