HE State Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Federal Republic of Somalia Ali Mohamed Omar underscored his country’s appreciation for the State of Qatar’s efforts and supporting stances to Somalia and its people in various stages and circumstances, noting the long-term and deep-rooted relations between the two brotherly countries and peoples.
In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), His Excellency said Somalia has a long-standing relationship with the State of Qatar, and Qatar continued to maintain a good relationship with Somalia, and this makes Somalia’s relationship with Qatar unique.
He described his visit to Doha as successful and fruitful and comes within the shared visits between the two countries, confirming that he had made held fruitful talks in Doha and spires to further shared visits to promote relations between the two countries and the Qatari and Somali peoples.
HE State Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Federal Republic of Somalia emphasized his country’s keenness to develop these relations and enhance bilateral cooperation fields, especially at this stage where Somalia needs much support considering its efforts in development and peace.
Somalia has gone a long way at the stability level, but it needs much help to overcome the enormous challenges the country is facing, he said, adding that Somalia has recovered as a fragile nation, but it faces risks, including terrorism.
He pointed out that the State of Qatar has been in a permanent communication with various national governments in Somalia and provided various support and aid to the Somali people, adding that the State of Qatar accomplished a number of development projects, including the 112 kilometers of Road in Mogadishu linking it to Balaad and Jawajher, which cut down travel time in those areas from two days to two hours, expediting the movements of citizens, merchandise and agricultural commodities, as well as activating trade movement between cities in general.
The Somali State Minister for Foreign Affairs pointed out to several agreements signed between his country and the State of Qatar, including consultation and cooperation at the international arena, whether in the United Nations, or the Arab League and other multilateral organizations.
Bilateral relations are important, as well as regional relationship, and Somalia has many interests whether in the Arab or African regions, he said.
His Excellency talked about the most prominent challenges facing Somalia at the current time which the Somali government prioritizes them in its bilateral relations, adding that Somalia faces two challenges that require support and cooperation, including building security institutions to counter terrorism, while the second challenge is debt problem.
He indicated that Qatar significantly contributes to building security and military institutions through education, where there many Somali students in the Qatari military academies, whether they are maritime, aviation or land forces. The State of Qatar also supports Somalia in its talks with the World Bank.
The State of Qatar has a lot of partners in the West and Somalia needs their help, Ali Mohamed Omar added, emphasizing that Qatar supports Somalia in this field.
Meanwhile, HE State Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Somalia praised the Qatari efforts to bolster security and peace at the world and region’s levels through mediations and conflict resolution, hailing the Qatar’s role in mediating between Somalia and Kenya.
He asserted that Somalia is moving in the right direction to overcome the crises that have been engulfing the country for years, noting that the major challenge which faces Somalia today is the achievement of security as the key for development and the foundation for progress and prosperity.
Somalia is exerting much effort to bolster security and stability, he said, adding that since past year it succeeded in restoring security in several states, and this improvement in security enhances development plans.
He pointed out that the Somali government is putting more effort into education right now and hopefully by the end of the year it will have a better environment, more conducive environment that can attract more development, affirming that Somali governments developmental strategy is to start with security, and once that is accomplished it will focus a lot more on developmental projects.
Commenting on drought challenges, he indicated that such challenge is consequential, and it is one of the climate change phenomena that has implications on the humanitarian situation in the country.
Concluding his statements to QNA, HE State Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Federal Republic of Somalia said he was grateful to the support provided by Qatar Charity that supplies a lot of food and medical assistance to the remote areas in pursuit of curbing the drought consequences.
