Foreign Secretary in Copenhagen to press for progress in Somalia

LONDON, United-Kingdom, November 19, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Foreign Secretary urges Somalia's leadership to resolve political differences and focus on security and stability.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond spoke at an international meeting in Copenhagen today to push for faster implementation of Somalia's New Deal Compact. He also met Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Foreign Ministers from the region.

Following the meeting, the Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said:

“The UK has demonstrated its commitment to Somalia. We co-hosted conferences in London in February 2012 and May 2013 to galvanise the international community into action. Since then, Somalia has taken important steps to implement the commitments it has made to its people and to the international community. But to maintain this momentum, Somalia's leaders must resolve their current differences and work to ensure Somalia has a stable and more peaceful future.”

Notes to editors

1. On 16 September 2013, the Somalia New Deal Conference, co-hosted by the European Union and Somalia, was held in Brussels. The Somali Compact provided a new political, security and development architecture framing the future relations between Somalia, its people and the international community. The international community and Somalia endorsed the Somali Compact, pledged support to enable its implementation and re-committed to the Somali political process. The full text of the Compact can be found here: http://eeas.europa.eu/somalia/new-deal-conference/sites/default/files/the_somali_compact.pdf.

2. Today's meeting in Copenhagen, “The High Level Partnership Forum on Delivering Somalia's New Deal Compact” will review progress made since the 2013 Brussels conference across the five New Deal Peace and State Building Goals: Inclusive Politics; Security; Justice; Economic Foundations and Revenue and Services.