MOGADISHU (SD) -The African Union, the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and international partners met in Mogadishu to discuss on strategies to replace AMISOM following its expected end of mandate on 31st March 2022.

The meeting was attended by many representatives including Somalia’s Minister of Defense, the Head of AMISOM, the Head of the European Union Delegation to Somalia, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Somalia, the Deputy Head of the Turkish Mission in Somalia, and the United States Ambassador to Somalia.

Somali Minister of Defense Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur said the proposed plan focus on implementing the priorities of Somalia’s Transition Plan (STP).

STP is a thorough strategy developed by FGS and its partners to direct the gradual transfer of responsibility of security in Somalia to the Somali security forces.

“As suggested by the technical teams of the FGS and the AU, the mandate of the new African Union Mission in Somalia will be to support the Federal Government in fulfilling its strategic and priority objectives of the STP,” said the defense minister. .

The Head of AMISOM and SRCC, stated that all parties need to work together in order for the new mission to be successful.

“We have agreed on what needs to be done. However, we need to work together on how this will be done, with what means and what is required to differentiate the new mission from AMISOM. This is a project that is essential and dear to all of us, but for it to succeed it needs assurances of reliable sources of adequate and predictable funding and support. We should, therefore, at the end of the technical meeting be in a position to make clear commitments on what each one of us will contribute to make the agreed conclusions implementable and successful,” said the Head of AMISOM.

AMISOM has been running in Somalia since 2007.