Qatar has participated in a high-level international conference on Somalia, hosted in the British capital London. Qatar’s delegation to the meeting was headed by Tariq Ali al-Ansari, director of the International Technical Co-operation Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In his speech at the conference, al-Ansari stressed the political will of Qatar to continue to help brotherly Somalia through political support and assistance amounting to about $385mn for the period 2011-2018 of which $200mn was pledged by the end of 2017.
He stressed that the Qatari support is being coordinated with the Somali government, the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and the UN specialized agencies operating in Somalia.
He noted that there is coordination between the two countries to provide Qatari support to Somalia in the field of security sector reform, referring to the provision of 30 buses to support the transport sector.
He also stressed the importance of the UN support for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which provides services for peacekeeping, protection of development and donor projects, in response to numerous appeals from the African Union and international resolutions.
Al-Ansari called on countries to start investing in Somalia to help the country be self-reliant and support its institutions.
He noted the importance of the commitment of all parties to supporting the unity and territorial integrity of Somalia and respect for its sovereignty in accordance with the resolutions of the UN General Assembly, the Security Council, the Arab League, the African Union and the support of the federal government.
