A worker waters the flowers outside the Generalitat Palace, the Catalan regional government headquarter in Barcelona

Good afternoon, I would like to thank the President of Galmudug, His Excellency Ahmed Abdi Kariye and his team, for the warm welcome provided to us today. I am here with the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Ambassador Francisco Madeira; also the European Union’s Deputy Head of Delegation to Somalia, Nicole Miller; and from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Head of Mission, Jamal Ahmed Ibrahim. We are very pleased to be in Dhusamareb today. This is our second visit to a Federal Member State this month. Despite the limited in-person engagement during recent months because of the COVID pandemic, we have remained in close communication with President Ahmed Abdi Kariye and with the Galmudug administration via virtual meetings, as we have with other Federal Member State leaders, and we also had the honour of meeting the President in Mogadishu in September. In our meeting today with the President, we discussed the importance of continuing good relations between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Federal Member States. We have been encouraged by the revitalization of the dialogue between the Federal Government and all of the Federal Member States. In this respect, I would like to commend, on behalf of our group, President Ahmed Abdi Kariye for his leadership in hosting the series of meetings in Dhusamareb in July and August leading to the consultative meetings in Mogadishu last month during which the agreement on the elections model was reached. We urge all of Somalia’s leaders to continue to collaborate in this manner with the preparations for the national elections so that they are underpinned by transparency, fairness and inclusivity. This will include ensuring that the 30 per cent quota for women’s representation in the parliamentary elections is achieved and that the delegate selection committees include diverse representation. While here in Dhusamareb, we also commended President Ahmed Abdi Kariye for his efforts at reconciliation and we urge that this continue. We also registered our concern over recent security incidents, as al-Shabaab has threatened the population. We welcomed the presence of AMISOM forces to support Somali Security Forces to maintain peace and security. Partners are meanwhile working with the Galmudug Administration to advance programmes for the police as part of a broader security sector strategy. As we conclude our visit, we appreciate the warm welcome from the people of Galmudug. The AU, EU, IGAD and UN will continue to stand with you as friends and partners. Thank you, Mr. President.