Deputy Minister Ebrahim’s to attend a High-Level Segment of the Istanbul Conference on Somalia, 22 may 2010

Pretoria-Deputy Minister Ebrahim I Ebrahim will attend a High-Level Segment of the Istanbul Conference on Somalia in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey, on 22 May 2010.  Secretary-General of the United Nations, BAN Ki-moon, and Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are co-hosting the Conference from 21 - 23 May 2010 in Istanbul, Turkey.

The High-Level Segment will be preceded by a Preparatory Meeting of Senior Government Officials and Heads of United Nations Agencies on 21 May 2010. The last day of the Conference, 23 May 2010, will be a Recovery and Reconstruction Segment.

The Istanbul Conference is convened pursuant to the Djibouti Peace Agreement of 9 June 2008 which provided for three key aspects, namely improvement in security, political co-operation and reconstruction and development. The Conference will focus on the reconstruction and development needs of Somalia.

It is expected that the President of Somalia, President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, will provide an overview of political and security developments of the past year. The meeting will also consider social and economic activities as part of the Djibouti Peace Agreement and will provide an opportunity to review efforts of the international community and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia.

South Africa supports the Djibouti Peace Agreement and an all-inclusive national reconciliation process in Somalia. In this regard South Africa also supports the efforts of the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, the African Union (AU), Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and other role-players to enhance the Djibouti Process.

In order to assist the dire humanitarian and socio-economic situation prevailing in Somalia South Africa supports UN efforts towards the alleviation of the position of the internally displaced and refugees by donating funds to the UN for its relief efforts.

For more information please contact Saul Kgomotso Molobi, Chief Director for Public Diplomacy on 082 940 1647 or email to: molobis@dirco.gov.za.

Issued by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation
Private Bag x152
Pretoria
0001

21 May 2010