Qatar has reaffirmed that it will continue supporting the Somali people in order to help them attain peace, stability, development and security and combat the threat of terrorism and violent extremism.
This came in remarks by the HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani while delivering the opening statement at the Ministerial Meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) Contact Group on Somalia on Sunday.
“Qatar will continue to be a key supporter of the government and people of Somalia to realise their hopes and aspirations in building their state and achieving a prosperous future for coming generations.
"Time has come for Somalis to have a safe and stable life and that can only be achieved through realising stability, security and creating new prospects for the comprehensive economic, social and cultural development that the Somali people deserve,” he said noting that Qatar recently gave $25mn to Somalia as a contribution to the debt reduction at the World Bank.
“Qatar takes up efforts to support the development of security capabilities, economic empowerment programmes, creation of job for young people and implementation of development projects including roads, schools and hospitals,” HE Sheikh Mohamed said.
The joint investment between the Qatari and Somali governments has been announced for the port of Hobyo. While referring to the military grant provided by the Qatar armed forces to Somalia, the Deputy Prime Minister said Qatar extends support for the modernisation of the military and security sector of Somalia in co-ordination with the United Nations in line with the efforts led by the African Union through the African peacekeeping mission in Somalia.
He also called for efforts to complete the pillars of democracy in Somalia to materialise the 2016 vision, hold the general elections scheduled for 2020-2021 and establish the principles of transparency, social justice and respect for human rights and the rule of law.
“There are many serious challenges still facing Somalia, and we should provide all aspects of support for facing these challenges. Perhaps, the most prominent of these challenges is terrorism and violent extremism,” he said.
HE Sheikh Mohamed said Kuwait will host the donors' conference to support the education sector of Somalia in May next year. He hailed Kuwait for it's efforts and Turkey for it's proposal of sending a fact-finding mission to drought affected countries including Somalia in order to assess the needs of the victims.
