STORY: SOMALIA PARTNERSHIP FORUM ENDS WITH

SOMALI GOVERNMENT AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS

AGREEING ON PRIORITY ACTIONS
TRT: 03:49
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LANGUAGE: ENGLISH NATURAL SOUND
DATELINE: 2/OCTOBER/2019, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

SHOT LIST:
1. Wide shot, representatives of the Federal Government of Somalia and country's
international partners, including the United Nations and AMISOM, and civil society
organisations participating in the second day of the Somalia Partnership Forum (SPF)
2. Med shot, Presidents of Hirshabelle, Southwest and Galmudug States
3. Med shot, James Swan, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
Somalia, and Ambassador Francisco Madeira, Special Representative of the
Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia, at the Forum
4. Med shot, participants at the Forum
5. Wide shot, representatives of the international community
6. Med shot, Ambassadors to Somalia of the United Arab Emirates and Ireland
7. Med shot, Ambassadors to Somalia of United States and the European Union
8. Wide shot, Hassan Ali Khayre, Prime Minister of the Federal Government of
Somalia, speaking
9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hassan Khayre, Prime Minister, Federal Government of
Somalia
"Somalia is making tremendous strides. We are ready to move forward together in
this limited time we have, together with our Federal Member States, both houses of
Parliament and the political elite. We will endeavour to chart forward, to ensure that
progress achieved is not set back."

10. Close up shot, senior officials of the Federal Government of Somalia

11. Wide shot, Prime Minister Khayre addressing the SPF participants
12. Med shot, participants at the Forum
13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hassan Khayre, Prime Minister, Federal Government of
Somalia
"Therefore in the coming times we will work on narrowed priorities, including
holding open and fair elections and ensuring a peaceful transition, completion of the
constitutional review process and deepening of federalism, all this while not losing
sight of the gains made so far and the investment of our international partners,"

14. Wide shot, participants listening to SRSG James Swan

15. Med shot, journalists covering SPF
16. SOUNDBITE: (English) James Swan, UN Secretary-General's Special
Representative for Somalia
"Inclusive politics if handled with the necessary leadership and consensus building
has the potential to accelerate progress across all of the Mutual Accountability
Framework commitments,"

17. Wide shot, participants at the Forum

18. Close up shot, Prime Minister Khayre listening
19. SOUNDBITE: (English) James Swan, UN Secretary-General's Special
Representative for Somalia
"Passage of the electoral law is the crucial next step and we are pleased to see the
commitment to make every effort to complete this by the end of 2019, failure to
meet this deadline will jeopardize the mobilization of essential funding and risks
slippage in the electoral calendar,"

20. Pan shot, participants at the forum

21. Close up shot, Prime Minister Khayre
22. Close up shot a participant listening
23. Med shot, senior officials of the Federal Government of Somalia
24. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ahmed Isse Awad, Federal Government of Somalia
Minister of Foreign Affairs
“Somalia and its international partners agreed a Mutual Accountability Framework
to narrow their joint focus to priority areas for action and resources in order to
achieve key priority outcomes before December 2020. International partners noted
that despite advances on a number of key priorities, strengthened political
cooperation between the FGS and some Federal Member States (FMS) would have
accelerated progress. Somalia committed to successfully conclude current security
operations, undertake further operations against Al Shabaab, and complete priority
reforms of security, justice and human rights institutions,”

25. Med shot, participants at the forum

26. Wide shot, participants leaving
SOMALIA PARTNERSHIP FORUM ENDS WITH SOMALI GOVERNMENT AND
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS AGREEING ON PRIORITY ACTIONS

Mogadishu, 2 October 2019 – The Somalia Partnership Forum concluded today in

Mogadishu, with attendees taking stock of progress the country has made, while also
noting remaining challenges and agreeing on a set of priority actions needed to take
the country forward.

“Somalia is making tremendous strides. We are ready to move forward together in

this limited time we have, together with our federal member states; both houses of
parliament and the political elite. We will endeavour to chart forward, to ensure that
progress achieved is not set back,” said Somalia’s Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre,
who led today’s discussions.

“Therefore in the coming times,” he continued, “we will work on narrowed priorities,
including holding open and fair elections and ensuring a peaceful transition,
completion of the constitutional review process and deepening of federalism, all this
while not losing sight of the gains made so far and the investment of our
international partners.” Mr. Khaire added.

The two-day gathering brought together officials from the Federal Government of
Somalia and several of the country’s Federal Member States, and representatives
from more than three dozen countries and various international organizations.

Their joint commitments on the way forward were outlined in a communiqué issued
at the end of the two-day meeting.

“International partners recognised Somalia’s achievements and commended the

leadership of the Federal Government of Somalia for the significant progress in
implementing reforms including improved public financial management and revenue
generation, consultations on a new National Development Plan, extensive security
reforms, successful operations to retake and stabilise territory previously held by Al-
Shabaab, increased delivery of social services, and progress towards local
reconciliation in some areas,” the communiqué stated.

“At the same time, a number of challenges remain, including the need to generate
jobs and economic growth, continue the fight against Al-Shabaab, respond to
humanitarian crises and build resilience, lay foundations for inclusive politics and
strengthen respect for the rights, participation and representation of women and
minorities,” it added.
MAF agreement

In regard to the so-called Mutual Accountability Framework (MAF) for 2019-2020,

the Somali authorities and their international partners agreed on one to narrow their
joint focus to priority areas for action and resources in order to achieve key priority
outcomes before December next year.

The MAF details the joint commitments of Somalia and its international partners in
the areas of political reforms, security reforms, economic development and recovery
and humanitarian assistance, as the country rebuilds after decades of armed conflict
and climate-related shocks.

The international partners noted today that despite advances in a number of key
priorities, strengthened political cooperation between the Federal Government and
some Federal Member States would have accelerated progress. Somalia’s leaders
agreed that such cooperation is critical in order to make further progress on political,
security and economic reforms – and that this will require the strong personal
commitment of all federal and state leaders.

‘One person, one vote’ elections

In relation to the federal ‘one person, one vote’ elections planned for sometime
around late 2020 and early 2021, the communiqué noted how the country’s executive
and legislative arms are committed to adopting an Electoral Law by December this
year.

Earlier in the day, during discussions on inclusive politics, the UN Secretary-General’s

Special Representative for Somalia, James Swan, flagged the importance of meeting
set timelines.
“Passage of the electoral law is the crucial next step and we are pleased to see the
commitment to make every effort to complete this by the end of 2019, failure to
meet this deadline will jeopardize the mobilization of essential funding and risks
slippage in the electoral calendar,” Mr. Swan said.

The UN envoy added, “Inclusive politics if handled with the necessary leadership and
consensus building has the potential to accelerate progress across all of the Mutual
Accountability Framework commitments.”

The communiqué also noted that Somalia has committed to completing its
Constitutional Review by June 2020, as well as adopting an amended Federal
Constitution, establishing a Constitutional Court and Judicial Service Commission,
continuing the country’s National Reconciliation process, and ensuring the
participation of all sectors of society, including women, in political decision-making.

International partners agreed to promote dialogue and political engagement and to

mobilize resources to supplement government financing, following the adoption of
the legislation to support these processes, and to help Somalia to meet the timetable
for preparations.

Security sector reform

In the area of security reform, the communiqué highlighted how Somalia committed
to successfully conclude current security operations, undertake further operations
against Al-Shabaab, and complete priority reforms in the area of security, as well as
justice and human rights institutions.

“In 2020, the focus of these will be jointly identified and planned, to ensure that all
stakeholders can align their efforts and resources to agreed locations,” it stated.

Among other areas of cooperation, international partners committed to supporting

the generation of human rights-compliant security forces, the stabilisation of newly-
recovered areas, including access to justice, and key reform processes, including
human resources and payroll reform of the Somali security forces.

Debt relief steps

Somalia’s leaders have repeatedly called on the country’s international creditors to

grant Somalia debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative,
which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank established in 1996 to
ensure that no poor country faces a debt burden exceeding its capacity to service and
manage.

On the issue of next steps to meet requirements for the HIPC Initiative by early 2020,
the communiqué noted Somalia’s commitment to meet, in full, the benchmarks in its
fourth IMF Staff Monitored Program (SMP).

According to the IMF, Somalia owes some $5.2 billion to its international creditors.
The SMP is designed to foster economic reconstruction efforts and enable countries
to establish a track record of policy and reform implementation. Somalia completed
its first SMP in 2016-2017.
Today, Somalia’s international partners also committed to actively supporting the
Federal Government of Somalia to meet benchmarks building on significant progress
to date, and to take the necessary steps to prepare for an anticipated HIPC Decision
Point early next year.

Partnering

In the area of how Somali and the international community work together, the
communiqué flagged how Somalia has made progress in recent years thanks to the
strength of the partnership between the two.

Among their agreements in this area, they agreed to ensure that their efforts are
aligned and to adopt and implement a national legal framework governing national
and international non-governmental organisations.

“The Forum reaffirmed the commitment of all parties to this partnership and to the
principle of mutual accountability in order to maximise their collective efforts to build
a bright future for Somalia,” the communiqué stated.

Other areas

In addition to commitments in the political, economic, development and security

spheres, the communiqué also stated that Somalia committed to prioritise youth
empowerment and employment generation, to build resilience through social
protection, achieve durable solutions for refugees, returnees and internally displaced
persons in full respect for humanitarian principles and international human rights law,
and increase social services delivery. International partners agreed to support these
priorities.