By Dawan Africa - Reporter
New York(Mogadishu24)-The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, chaired the Somalia Security Conference at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Tuesday, emphasizing Somalia’s achievements and post-embargo security requirements and plans.
In this conference, organized by Somalia and attended by 26 countries, the United Nations, the Arab League, the European Union, and the African Union, the President outlined implemented plans for the army’s reconstruction, the liberation of areas under terrorist control, the significance of national and international security cooperation, withdrawal of ATMIS forces, and political stability in Somalia.
“The people of Somalia have endured immense hardship yet have shown remarkable resilience and determination in the face of adversity,” President Hassan remarked.
He acknowledged the vital role played by local community forces, African Transition Mission (ATMIS) troops, and international partners in the fight against Al-Shabaab.
“Last year marked a turning point for Somalia’s security as communities came together in an unprecedented manner to fight alongside the Somali National Armed Forces against Al-Shabaab in the central regions of the country. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of ATMIS and other key international partners,” President Hassan stated.
The President affirmed the government’s commitment to offensive operations despite major challenges and setbacks in the fight against the terrorist organization.
“We are fighting a violent and bankrupt enemy. We recently suffered a few setbacks, including the attack on our forces. As a result of our internal stocktaking from these incidents, we are revising some of our military tactics, and we continue the offensive,” he added.
He highlighted the great achievements of the Somali National Army and the local community forces ‘Macawisley’ in the fight, leading to the transition of security matters to the Somali Armed Forces.
“The drawdown of ATMIS we are witnessing today is a testament to the progress we have made together in building a more stable Somalia with a stronger security apparatus working towards full security responsibilities for Somali forces,” he said.
The president further highlighted the contribution of international partners and the African Union Transition Mission-ATMIS, formerly AMISOM, in the state-building efforts.
He stated that their presence and active engagement on security issues created an opportunity for the Somali government to develop and implement state-building agendas.
“We are very appreciative of the fact that our success today wouldn’t have been possible without the support of international partners and sacrifices made by ATMIS groups and police contributing countries. For the last 16 years, these African boys and girls were dying with us and liberating the country with us.”
“Because of their presence, the Somali Government has been given the opportunity to have space to work on, develop a functional state-building agenda. It was liberating the country from Al-Shabaab, but it has played a major role in state-building as well,” he added.
The President thanked the countries of the United Nations Security Council that supported lifting the arms embargo on Somalia and are now supporting debt forgiveness and the construction of the Armed Forces.
“I welcome the historic decision of the United Nations Security Council to lift the arms embargo on Somalia after 31 years. This is a milestone for Somalia representing significant improvements in our weapons and ammunition management capacity and also enables us the capacity to equip the Somali Armed Forces as ATMIS forces drawdown continues,” he stated.
The conference was attended by the United States, England, Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, India, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda, Burundi, Italy, Germany, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Norway, the Arab Union, the African Union, and Europe.
