[ Home ] [ Speeches & Statements ]

27 Sep 2012

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon convened a mini-summit on Somalia in New York on 26 September 2012 on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly. The African Union Commission Chairperson Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and the President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency President Jacob Zuma were among the high-level participants that attended the mini-summit which was held at the UN headquarters.

His Excellency President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia attended by video teleconference from Mogadishu and was represented in New York by Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali. Participants included the outgoing AU Commission Chairperson Dr Jean Ping, as well as high-level representatives of Burundi, China, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Norway, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Yemen, African Union, European Union, League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, African Development Bank, World Bank and Islamic Development Bank.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon praised Somalia for the progress in its democratic transition and called on the international community to continue supporting the East African nation, stressing that "there is no time to lose" as the country is still facing serious humanitarian and security challenges. Participants congratulated President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the Somali authorities and the people of Somalia on the peaceful end of transition, which represented a historic moment for Somalia, and an important step towards improving peace and security. Mr Ban Ki Moon also paid tribute to the work of the Roadmap Signatories, Traditional Elders, National Constituent Assembly, the new Federal Parliament and the Technical Selection Committee for their roles in ending the Transition.

The UN welcomed the commitment of the outgoing President to support and work with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and urged all political actors in Somalia to cooperate with the new authorities. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said that the UN underlined that the spirit of unity should be a guiding principle for all Somali and international actors working towards peace in Somalia.

In his address to the summit President Jacob Zuma commended the people of Somalia on the historical step of starting a post transition government that shall chart a path towards governance, reconciliation, stability and development and also indicated that the Mini-Summit Summit on Somalia comes at an opportune time. The President said that he is looking forward to working with President Hassan, in both bilateral and in multilateral settings as they both strengthen the South Africa-Somalia relationship and collaborate within the multilateral fora on matters of mutual interest.

Issued by: Department of Home Affairs
27 Sep 2012

[ Top ]