Somalia: Building on the Momentum of Progress

Somalia: building on the momentum of progress

On Monday, 16th September the European Union and the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia will co-host a Conference in Brussels to endorse the "New Deal Compact" framework which commits national and international partners to jointly deliver on the most critical political, security and socioeconomic priorities in Somalia. This New Deal process was launched in May, 2013 by the Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon and is led by a Task Force, composed of the Federal Government, Parliament, the EU (representing the donors) and Somali civil society, together with a broad range of stakeholders.

The Conference is set to build on the momentum of progress and change in Somalia, supported by the recent international conferences on the country. EU High Representative/Vice President Catherine Ashton noted:

"The situation in Somalia has been transformed over the past year. There is now a real atmosphere of activity, emerging governance and hope. It is therefore more important than ever that the international community makes good on its promises of support for the Somali people".

The "New Deal Compact" is the foundation of the international community and Somalia's mutual commitment to a three year plan that can deliver peace, security and development to all Somali people.President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud urged:

"All Somalis must seize this opportunity to galvanise international support to aid our recovery. We have this one chance to ensure that over the next three years we build on the momentum of progress and remove any threat of a return to anarchy and conflict. I hope the world will attend to pledge their support to secure this fast emerging success story."

Further Information:

The EU is the largest donor to Somalia with more than 1 billion euros over several years and is engages through active diplomacy and support to the political process, security support, development assistance and humanitarian aid (particularly on governance, education and economic development).
In addition, under the EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), the EU has also launched 3 missions to contribute to security challenges: (1) the Military Training Mission (EUTM) to support the Somali security forces, (2) the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) operation “Atalanta” to fight piracy at sea, (3) the EUCAP NESTOR to develop regional maritime capacity of states in the Horn.