Mogadishu (AMISOM) – The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Madeira today met with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and discussed ways of bolstering security in the country. The Monday meeting, held in the Office of the President in Mogadishu, was attended by top security officials from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
The officials included the Acting Force Commander Maj. Gen. Nakibus Lakara; AMISOM Police Commissioner, Anand Pillay; the Head of Mission Support Maj. Gen. Fidza Dludlu; AMISOM Sector 1 Contingent Commander, Brig. Sam Okiding and Deputy Sector 5 Contingent Commander, Col. Ndayisaba Frederic. Also in attendance were top officials drawn from the Somali National Security Forces (SNSF).
Addressing the media moments after the meeting, Ambassador Francisco Madeira described the talks as constructive and complementary, noting that the implementation of the Djibouti Declaration was also on the agenda: “I have just had a meeting with His Excellency President Hassan. We discussed issues related to defense and security of the country and how best to implement the Djibouti Declaration decisions. The President gave us very good substantial instructions which we will try to implement,” said Ambassador Madeira.
The implementation of the President’s instructions, the SRCC added, will be handled by a working committee comprising both AMISOM and the Federal Government of Somalia officials. The committee is expected to start its work soon. Ambassador Madeira said the working committee will look at all options on security and handle everything that needs to be implemented in order for the security operations to be effective on the ground.
It was a very constructive meeting, a very complimentary meeting and we believe that as we continue to move this way, we will also make a lot of progress on the ground,” the SRCC observed. The Djibouti Declaration of February 28, 2016, among others urged all stakeholders to intensify support for AMISOM and the Somali National Army (SNA) in their operations to defeat Al Shabaab and also emphasized the need for an effective AMISOM command and control in order to achieve synergy in the fight against Al Shabaab.
Source: AMISOM
