MOGADISHU — The United Nations has lauded the collaboration between the Somali government and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) for stabilizing the country.
UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Pobee, who wrapped up a three-day visit to Somalia on Saturday, reassured ATMIS and Somali leaders of continued UN support.
“I go with a lot of admiration. This country has made great strides. I was here a couple of years ago and I see the progress,” Pobee said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, on Sunday.
“I want to assure each of you that we gained a lot of insights from you that should help our organization, the UN, to have a strategy that is more supportive, that aligns with the needs of the Somali people,” she said during a dinner hosted in her honor in Mogadishu.
Somalia’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ali Mohamed Omar praised international partners for their role in the country’s progress.
“Somalia would not have been the Somalia of today without all your support,” he said. “Somalia has come a long way.”
Mohammed El-Amine Souef, special representative of the chairperson of the AU Commission for Somalia and head of ATMIS, briefed Pobee on Somalia’s humanitarian situation, ATMIS troops’ drawdown, and the overall transition, and flood issues caused by El-Nino rains.
“We have had a productive meeting with officials of UN Support Office for Somalia, the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia and our sector commanders to see how we can address the issue of flood caused by the El Nino rains,” Souef said.
Xinhua
