Professionalise Somali army - Museveni

By Vision reporter

President Yoweri Museveni has stressed the need for capacity building for the people of Somalia especially in the area of professionalization of the army as one of the most important pillars of the state.

He also congratulated the people of Somalia for peacefully electing a new president adding that it was a milestone in the country’s recovery process

The president was attending the 21st Extra-ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of IGAD which was held in Addis Ababa at the Sheraton Hotel.

Museveni has maintained that Somalia needs support in strengthening its army for peace and security through training technical staff to handle specialized equipment and recruiting educated young people with the right ideology to build a professional army.

He was received on arrival at Bole International Airport by the Ethiopian Minister of Culture and Tourism,  Amin Abdulkadir, Sam Kutesa, Uganda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Uganda’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Ambassador Mull Katende and members of the Ugandan Community in Addis Ababa, among others.

The IGAD Summit was held to discuss the political situation in the Federal Republic of Somalia and chart a way towards the country’s stabilisation and recovery process.

The summit was attended by among others, Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya, H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of the Federal Republic of Somalia,  Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan, H.E. Ali Ahmed Kharti, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Sudan,  Ali Silay, Minister of Internal Cooperation of the Republic of Djibouti and the current IGAD Chairman, Hailemariam Desalegn,  Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the Summit, the Presidents reiterated the need for all processes particularly the ongoing efforts towards setting up Somali regional administration and stabilization efforts to be anchored on five principles namely; Leadership of  the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia in the process, Respect of the provisional constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia, an all inclusive consultative process with the people of Somalia, Supportive role of IGAD based on the priorities of the Somali Government and, fighting the AL-SHabaab as the primary focus of the Somali Government, AMISOM, regional and international partners.

The Summit was also attended by EU and IPF Representatives who reiterated their commitment and support to IGAD in promoting regional political and economic development in Somalia and the region as a whole.

Later President Museveni held a side meeting with his Somali counterpart where they discussed matters of bilateral interest to the two countries.