Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo today pledged to work closely with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in fighting the terrorist group Al-Shabaab which poses the biggest threat to peace and security in the country.
President Farmajo said there was an urgent need to fight and defeat Al-Shabaab if Somalia is to achieve prosperity, saying his government was ready to play its role with the help of international partners.
“My vision is to defeat Al-Shabaab in the next two years. Hopefully if we work very closely together, we will be able to defeat the Al-Shabaab. That is the vision I would like to see happen in the next two years to bring peace and stability to Somalia,” President Farmajo said during a meeting with African Union leadership and Ambassadors of Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) at Villa Somalia.
Present at the meeting was the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Madeira; Kenyan Ambassador to Somalia, Retired Maj. Gen. Lucas Tumbo; Djiboutian Ambassador to Somalia, Aden Hasan Aden; Ethiopian Deputy Ambassador to Somalia, Jamaludin Mustafa Omar and the First Secretary in the Ugandan Embassy in Somalia, Sheikh Muhindo Alamin, among other senior officials.
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Noting that there was still work to be done in the fight against Al-Shabaab, President Farmajo urged both AMISOM and the Somali National Army (SNA) to double their efforts, promising to be a true partner in combating terrorism.
Speaking after the meeting, Ambassador Madeira said they were impressed with the president’s vision for the country, particularly his commitment to working closely with AMISOM and the TCCs to root out the Al-Shabaab.
“The president has set up his priorities. He wants Al-Shabaab defeated as quickly as possible. We assured the President that we are with him in that endeavor and we are going to see how we can strengthen each other, cooperate with one another and harmonize our efforts to do exactly that (defeat Al-Shabaab),” SRCC Madeira who is also the Head of Mission noted.
Ambassador Madeira thanked the President for recognizing the role played AMISOM and TCCs in the stabilization process, saying the mission and its partners were committed to working towards a peaceful and stable Somalia.
“We were extremely happy that the President was very open, friendly and sincere with us on how he holds AMISOM and all the TCCs in very high regard. He has clearly said that he wants to work with AMISOM and individual TCCs because he feels that these are true partners and wants to strengthen relations with them,” SRCC Madeira explained.
The ambassadors present also promised to work with President Farmajo in the war against terror to ensure Somalia stabilizes for the betterment of the present and future generations.
