Qatar Affirms Continued Development Assistance to Somalia

DOHA - The State of Qatar affirmed it will continue its relief efforts and development assistance to brotherly Somalia and other afflicted countries, bearing its responsibility as an active and responsible member of the international community, and stemming from its beliefs that peace, security, development, and human rights are interdependent and complementary factors and that it is the only way to avoid extremism, violence, and terrorism, and that meeting humanitarian and development needs, reforms, social justice, and human rights must prevail in accordance with the purposes and objectives of the United Nations.

This came in the statement of the State of Qatar delivered by HE Saif bin Muqaddam Al Buainain, Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs and head of the delegation of the State of Qatar to the meetings of "Somalia Partnership Forum", which kicked off in Mogadishu Tuesday and concludes today.

HE Al Buainain underlined that the State of Qatar will continue to implement the $200 million grant to support Somalia's vital infrastructure and to build on the support which has exceeded $220 million since 2010 in the field of development, charity and humanitarian, in coordination with international partners and specialized UN agencies.

HE the Advisor of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs called for launching initiatives to support brotherly Somalia, fulfilling commitments, respecting its sovereignty and not interfering in its internal affairs from any party in accordance with international law and political declarations in this regard. HE Al Buainain also called for providing full support to Somalia in the fight against terrorism, reiterating Qatar's condemnation of terrorism whatever its pretexts, and for closer cooperation between the federal government and all states without marginalizing anyone.

HE Al Buainain stressed the importance of increasing the support provided to the African Union Mission to Somalia, especially by the United Nations, pursuant to Chapter VIII of the Charter, noting that one of the objectives of this Forum is to review the progress and challenges facing Somalia in the economic, political, security, development and social fields, as well as its national vision and how to determine its priorities and benefit efficiently from the support of its friends, according to the multilateral partnership document between the members of the international community and donor countries and the government of Somalia.

He called on all countries to enter Somalia with an investment orientation, explaining that the State of Qatar has done this through several meetings of the Qatar-Somalia joint economic committee, Qatar Airways' launch of three flights a week to Mogadishu and the announcement of a joint investment with the Somali government to build Hobyo port, as well as the directives of HH the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to support the 2019 budget of the Somali government with $20 million to contribute to supporting Somalia's national strategy to meet what has been agreed upon at previous security and partnership conferences.

HE Al Buainain said that the State of Qatar continues to provide support for the modernization of Somalia's military and security sector in coordination with the United Nations, in particular the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), for the importance of aligning with the efforts led by the African Union through the African Union Mission to Somalia.

He noted that the military grant provided by the Qatari Armed Forces to its Somali counterpart which consists of 68 modern military vehicles, saying that the grant reflects clearly the cooperation between the two brotherly countries in this field, based on the principle of complementarity between security and development and the importance of protecting achievements in this field.

He noted the importance of recalling the security document adopted by HE the President of Somalia and the UN Secretary-General, to mobilize the support of the international community to contribute to the improvement of the political, economic and security situation in Somalia and to help the government to implement its programs to reform the security sector, combat terrorism and agree on administrative and technical assistance to the government and security sector in Somalia to facilitate political, economic and social reforms in the country over the next four years.

Meanwhile, HE Al Buainain said that the challenges facing Somalia are not limited to the security, economic, social, institutional and internal peace aspects, but also include natural disasters, the most important of which are severe droughts that are constantly sweeping the country, adding that without the international efforts and the dedication of charitable and civil societies, the human losses would have been tragic.

Based on the principle of integration and support of the government's efforts to establish security and peace and promote development in the country, it will be important to focus on the next phase on supporting federal states to develop local infrastructure such as roads, markets, administrative buildings and solar energy, in partnership with the United Nations and the World Bank and in coordination with the federal government, he said.

HE the Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs expressed appreciation to the government of Somalia for organizing the Forum in coordination with the United Nations, praising the support of the African Union, the European Union and the peace-loving countries to hold a coherent series of meetings on the future of Somalia and help it to achieve stability under a partnership that respects its sovereignty and national unity.

He noted that the broad participation of the international community in the Somalia Partnership Forum affirms the common international will to find radical solutions to the Somali crisis so that brotherly Somalia can preserve its sovereignty, achieve national reconciliation, establish security on its territory, build its institutions and provide a decent living for the Somali people.

He renewed thanks and appreciation to all countries and international and regional bodies participating in the Forum for their tireless and continuous efforts to stand by Somalia in order to end the protracted crisis and to achieve the desired goals of security, stability and territorial integrity.