H.E. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, Fellow Heads of States and Governments Excellencies, distinguished participants, Ladies and Gentlemen I am delighted to attend this Special Conference on Somalia on the eve of the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V). On behalf of the people and the government of Somalia I would like to thank the people and the Government of Japan for its leadership to host this special meeting on Somalia and Japan’s unwavering support to the people of Somalia. This timely special meeting on Somalia here in Yokohama shows Japan’s commitment to Somalia and we value very much. Our objective over the next few hours is to examine to some detail the socio-economic aspects of my government’s nation-building and peace building efforts. In particular, measures to support our Somali-led efforts to achieve economic recovery and service delivery capabilities under my Six Pillar Policy Framework. We need to get back to basics so that to understand the right approach required in Somalia’s recovery and development agenda and to tackle the root causes of instability. Security is pre-requisite to development and stability in Somalia. Excellencies, On different occasions I presented about the journey towards our socio-economic stability through incremental stages. Somalia needs to move from emergency situation to recovery and to development. Simultaneously, the international community’s mode of engagement must also undertake similar steps as the security situation of the country improves, hence, we need to move from short-term humanitarian assistance to long-term reconstruction and development using the potential, creativity and the resilience of the Somali people and their communities in the Diaspora. It is all about empowering the Somali people. My vision for Somalia is for a united and federal Somalia and a Somalia at peace with itself and with its neighbors, which poses no threat to the global peace and security. We would like to see a Somalia that enjoys security stability, political stability and economic stability with a resurgent economy and with a thriving small and medium sized businesses; a Somalia with a national institutions that can generate sustainable employment. Excellencies, As we move to recovery and development, the following four areas are necessary for stable and prosperous Somalia. · We must provide human security through active participation with the community in order to uphold the rule of law, restore law and order, undertake justice reform and establish credible law enforcement agencies. · We must continue to provide basic human needs – food, water, shelter, disease control – for the most vulnerable people of our society through sustainable agriculture, water and health projects. · Good Governance must be accelerated and government institutions must be visible in delivering basic services to the nation. All levels of government must also work expeditiously and create the legislations and the regulatory platform required for future social and economic growth and development. · And most importantly, we must start the engine of economic revival by engaging the private sector and seeking direct foreign investment. We could achieve simultaneously all these four areas and we will be able to generate the momentum that will tap the potential of our people into a real development phase with confidence. Governance and economic revival. Excellencies, My Administration has a plan to push governance out into the recovered districts and regions as quickly as possible, and establish to each district the provision of five basic social services – a school, a health centre, a water well, a police station, and a local administration complex. To do this, we need our partners to enable the government with the resources and the expertise to deliver and maintain these five simple services. To promote economic recovery we need a vibrant private sector that can create business opportunities, employment, and attract foreign investment, which in turn could help the government to generate taxes, in order to deliver social services. As you are all aware, all our institutions have collapsed, both structurally and technically. The staffs are often volunteers, doing jobs as best they can without training or experience. Of course staff turnover is high, as most cannot afford to stay for long without regular income. Most of our senior staff are asked to work for the thanks of a grateful nation. I appeal to you all to consider effective support to the government so that we create an environment conducive to good planning and the establishment of a civil service capable of building the sort of corporate knowledge that governments across the world enjoy. We need human resource development within the Federal Government of Somalia and local authorities, to enable delivery of basic social services and to promote economic recovery. We are trying to develop a roadmap for ‘Human and Institutional Capacity Building in Somalia’. With regard to economic recovery, the world will discover that it has the finest partner. A more naturally business oriented and entrepreneurial people you could wish to meet. Excellencies, We have a country wealthy in resources and opportunities that can be used to restore peace and prosperity to its people. We have a growing political unity and a confident administration ready to move forward and face the post conflict challenges. We do not seek dependence on aid but rather seek investment to sensitize our potentiality for quick recovery and development. With more than 70% of our population below the age of 35 and with the vast majority of the youth unemployed, the importance of creating employment opportunities is as critical as ever. As we have seen all over the world, a disaffected, unemployed youth is a huge cause of instability. At the heart of social stability are fully employed men and women. When the people of Somalia are gainfully employed in legitimate business and employment, they will drive the country forward and leave behind the quarrels and troubles of the past. Somalia is located in a very strategic position on the Eastern cost of Africa, and has the largest coastal belt in Africa. Somalia is the Eastern gateway to Africa, but we need to improve our ports facilities through which to maximize trading capacity. Somalia guards the Southern edge of the world’s busiest and most important trade route between the Pacific region, Africa and Europe, with vast cargoes passing through the Gulf of Aden. We have introduced a framework for recovery and development for key areas of intervention in the post conflict reconstruction of Somalia. These are the areas that transform lives and get our nation back to work. It indeed frees our people from poverty and the lure of extremism. Finally, this Conference is expected to complement the Second London Conference on Somalia on 7thMay, which agreed on measures to support our plans in the areas of security, justice and public financial management. And we hope that the outcomes of these two Conferences will be reflected in the discussion of the conference in Brussels in September. Thank you.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Jun 2013 18:15:54 +0000
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