Govt pledges continued support to Somali people

The government has pledged continued support to Somalia peace building process by any means possible. Noting the warm bilateral relations over the years, Parfait Gahamanyi, the director-general of multilateral cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, said the two countries would further work together to enable Somalia recover. Gahamanyi was speaking yesterday at the opening of a conference Somali citizens in the Diaspora from across the world in Kigali. The conference was organised by the Somali foreign affairs ministry, African Union, and African Union Mission in Somalia. Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia and Head of Amisom Dr Maman S. Sidikou (C) chats to Amb. Welile Nhlapo of African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (L), Parfait Gahamanyi (second right) and Omar Ali. The weeklong conference, being held in Kigali for the second time in a row under the theme, “Mobilising and harnessing Somali Diaspora for national reconciliation and development,” has an attendance of over 100 participants from the US, Canada, Norway, UK, and Ethiopia, among others. Gahamanyi said, in the past, Rwanda had offered to build the capacities of Somali civil servants in different domains. “The government, in all its capacities, will continue to help Somalia get up,” Gahamanyi said. Tipping the Somali on peace building, Gahamanyi advised the Somali Diaspora community that beyond financial remittances, they could contribute to nation building by image building and skills transfer. Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia and Head of Amisom Dr Maman S. Sidikou gives his remarks at the conference. He said Rwanda well understood Somalia’s position as the nation had also been regarded as a failed state after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and was aided by the establishment of homegrown solutions that were implemented with the help of Rwandans in the Diaspora. “It is part of the reason that we hold Rwanda Day (events) several times a year to give updates to Rwandans all across the world on how far we have come,” Gahamanyi said. He said the role of the Diaspora community had added to cooperation as well as infrastructure development, citing the One Dollar Complex that houses 192 orphans of the Genocide. A cross-section of participants at the conference in Kigali yesterday. Power of remittance Remittances from Rwandans in the Diaspora increased from $25 million in 2006 to $114 million in 2013. Gahamanyi said this has helped improve the living conditions of beneficiaries and economic growth, adding that government was confident that through proper strategies and Diaspora engagement, development of Somalia would be attained. The Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia, Maman Sidikou, said war-torn country had registered progress toward peace and stability but required numerous resources most of which could easily be availed by the Somali Diaspora. Sidikou said the presence of UN and Amison forces would at some point come to an end, hence the need to develop Somali-led and owned long term plans. Delegates at the Somali Diaspora conference pose in a group photo in Kigali yesterday. (All photos by Timothy Kisambira) He credited the efforts of the army toward containing the violence in the country, saying the next tasks were up to them. “Most of the work has already been done by the Army (Federal Government), al-Shabaab is no longer in control of large sections of Somalia. We are planning to build strong national forces (army and police), develop infrastructure, among other plans,” he said. Omar Ali, the chief of staff of the Somali Federal Government, lauded Rwanda for the support accorded in various ways. He urged his compatriots to borrow a leaf from Rwanda and its practices toward development. “Rwanda was in a bigger need than Somalia 20 years ago after the 1994 Genocide but they worked hard to get this far by combining their energies, we too can do the same through unity and cooperation,” Ali said. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

News

Govt pledges continued support to Somali people