President of Somalia visits the Stabilisation Unit
President Sherif Sheikh Ahmed of Somalia has visited the British government’s Stabilisation Unit (SU) as part of his visit to the UK.
The SU, jointly owned by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development, hosted the Somali President during a briefing focussing on lessons learned from other recent conflicts, including the ongoing Operation Moshtarak in Helmand, Afghanistan. The president was accompanied by senior officials including the ministers of foreign affairs, finance, higher education, planning and the deputy prime minister.
Experts from the SU discussed issues relating to stabilisation operations, such as the need for plans for military and civilian activity to be made on the basis of a shared and common understanding of the situation.
President Sherif Ahmed said the advice was very welcome, noting the considerable effort that had gone into plans to extend the Transitional Federal Government’s (TFG) control of the capital. Comprehensive planning had been undertaken with the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), that supports the TFG, together with regional and international partners and Somali civilian authorities including the ministries of planning, education, health and water, he said. It was important the government started demonstrating to the Somali people its ability to provide basic services.
“I very much welcome the visit to the SU by President Sherif,” said Sheelagh Stewart, head of the SU. “It was an opportunity to exchange views and recent experiences on stabilisation issues around the world.”
In the summer of 2009, the SU was commissioned to facilitate a new cross-Whitehall strategy on Somalia. The outcome from workshops in Nairobi and London fed into the current UK government strategy. The Unit also engaged with the African Union and Amisom in late 2009 on stabilisation lessons.
The UK is also working to reduce conflict and improve governance and democracy to make Somalia a place where people can live and return to in safety. The UK is committed to helping address the appalling humanitarian situation in Somalia and providing wider development assistance. So far, the UK has spent £11.5 million of humanitarian aid this financial year and is considering proposals for additional support. Despite current conditions which make safe delivery of aid difficult, the UK’s overall development assistance programme in Somalia continues to grow. The initial allocation for the UK’s overall development programme was £21m in 2009/10 – this will rise to £30.5 with additional allocations by the end of the year.