Switzerland is participating in the stabilisation of Somalia

BERN, Switzerland, May 7, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Under the leadership of SDC Director-General Martin Dahinden, Switzerland will participate in the international conference on Somalia to be held in London on 7 May 2013. Last year, the Federal Council adopted a Horn of Africa Strategy 2013-2016. As part of this strategy, Switzerland will not only provide humanitarian aid, but also work on development cooperation, the promotion of peace and security, and migration. Switzerland will also support Somalia in the development of federal and decentralised government structures.

Together with the Somali government, which took office in August 2012, the British government has invited the international community, including Switzerland, to participate in a conference on Somalia which aims to help bring international assistance into line with the Somali government's plans. The main themes of the conference are the creation of security, the development of a functioning state and inter-Somali pacification and stabilisation.

As part of its Horn of Africa Strategy 2013-2016, Switzerland will step up its support for Somalia. In particular, it will deploy humanitarian aid and development cooperation instruments in the domains of poverty reduction, food security, health and peace promotion. At the conference, Martin Dahinden, Director-General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), will also offer Switzerland's expertise and experience to help develop Somalia's federal state structure. To this end, it will work together with Somalia's states and will consult with the international community to coordinate its efforts.

Over the next four years, Switzerland will earmark CHF 15 million per year for Somalia; about half of this sum will be used for humanitarian aid. Switzerland will thus be making a contribution to the stabilisation of Somalia in the region, which is in the interest of the entire international community.