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The Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union visited Somalia

Somalia

The Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union, Ambassador Said Djinnit, undertook, today, a visit to Somalia to meet with the authorities of the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) and visit the headquarters of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

During his meeting with the President of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which was also attended by the Prime Minister, the First Deputy Speaker of the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP) and other Senior Government Officials, the Commissioner expressed his pleasure and privilege to meet with the Somali authorities in Mogadishu and reiterated the firm and strong determination of the African Union to support the TFG and other Somali Institutions in their efforts towards lasting reconciliation and peace.

Amb. Djinnit took also the opportunity to encourage the President to vigorously pursue his initiative on dialogue and national reconciliation, which he said, should be inclusive of all Somali.

On his part, the Somali President thanked the Commissioner for the efforts the African Union is making to assist the TFIs and the population of Somalia and reaffirmed his commitment to the dialogue and national reconciliation process. He stressed that all Somalis who renounce violence and accept the Charter as the basic law are welcome to participate and make a contribution towards the dialogue and national reconciliation.

The President also indicated that 3,000 representatives, including from the diaspora will participate in the National Reconciliation Congress, which is supposed to start in mid-April.

This visit, which follows the deployment of the Ugandan troops as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia, was also an opportunity for Amb. Djinnit to visit the headquarters of AMISOM to show the support of the Commission to the troops on the ground and pay tribute to the Ugandan authorities for their commitment to AMISOM. He was briefed by the Force Commander, Major General Levi Karuhanga, on AMISOM’s activities since the deployment started, including the challenges on the ground, as well as steps taken to start full implementation of the mandate contained in the PSC decision of 19 January 2007.

Amb. Djinnit seized also the occasion to appeal to the member states of the AU who committed themselves to provide troops to AMISOM to do so quickly and to others to be forthcoming in either providing troops or supporting financially or logistically the Mission. He equally appealed to the AU partners to provide more support to enable AMISOM to execute its mandate.

The Commissioner for Peace and Security was accompanied in his trip by Amb. Mohamed Ali Foum, the Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the AU Commission for Somalia, and some officers from the Peace and Security Department.

                                                                           Addis Ababa, 20 March 2007

(AU PRESS RELEASE)