HE President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, today led a ‘one Somalia’ delegation to attend the Ministerial High Level Partnership Forum in Copenhagen (HLPF Copenhagen), Denmark.
The HLFP Copenhagen is being hosted by the Government of Denmark, co-chaired by the Federal Government of Somalia and the United Nations and attended by more than 140 high-level delegates from more than 59 countries.
The aim of the HLPF Copenhagen is to review progress against the New Deal Compact for Somalia (the Somali Compact), which was endorsed in Brussels in September 2013. The Compact established a partnership based on mutual accountability and shared risk and responsibilities, between Somalia, and the international partners. The Somali Compact highlights the importance of Somali-owned and -led planning based on joint priorities, reached through dialogue, and sustained through reconciliation.
‘Somalia has undergone a remarkable transformation: we have laid the basic building blocks of state reform, developed legal frameworks, governance structures, formalised Somalia’s presence in the international community, strengthened our relationship with neighbouring countries, re-structured key institutions, established forums for dialogue, developed the path for political reform and put in place the architecture for linking international support to our priorities through the New Deal Somali Compact,” commented the President on the eve of his departure to Copenhagen.
The foundation for the future has been laid through the clear success of the Somali National Army and the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) against of Al-Shabaab. Most of south and central Somalia has now been restored to the Federal Government.
The Federal Government, in partnership with the international community, has delivered more than 50km of roads with solar street lights, provided health services in different regions, rehabilitated airport and ports, established vocational schools and youth recreational centres, provided greater access to justice, and strengthened industries for agriculture and fisheries. The public education sector was revived – for the first time in over two decades – with the enrolment of an additional 78,000 new children. Considerable progress in public financial management has also been made, putting in place greater accountability measures, controls and governance structures.
‘But we cannot afford to rest,’ continued the President. ‘As we look toward the next two years, we must urgently deliver on priority legislation, the establishment of commissions, and ensure the public consultations that will enable us to achieve the three intertwined strands of Vision 2016.
‘We must enlarge our focus on delivering improvements that impact the lives of Somalis. This means we must ensure the defeat of al-Shabaab, roll-out of stabilisation initiatives that connect the government to citizens, root out corruption, build mechanisms to capture revenue that is then used to provide schools for our children, create jobs for our young people, and ensure healthcare for our families. We must extract and use Somalia’s natural resources for the good of all, and ensure the right environment for the private sector to flourish,’ concluded the President.
Somalia is at a critical juncture in its efforts to achieve security and stability, and the HLPF Copenhagen represents a critical point at which to review this progress, address the challenges, identify possible gaps, and agree on what must be accomplished in the coming two years to ensure a sovereign, secure, democratic, united and federal Somalia at peace with itself and the world, and for the benefit of its people.
Source: Office of the Somali President
