Day: August 8, 2021

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA – The governments of Somalia and Kenya agreed to improve strained diplomatic ties following a meeting in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, between officials of both countries on Sunday.

The Kenyan delegation led by Foreign Affairs Minister Raychelle Omamo held talks with Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble.

According to a press statement from the prime minister’s office, the neighboring states, whose ties have not been on a strong footing for several months, agreed to cement their relations particularly in the areas of diplomacy, trade and security.

The statement further added that Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta extended an invitation for Somalia’s prime minister to visit Nairobi.

Somalia has underscored that an existing maritime dispute between both nations will be decided by The Hague-based International Court of Justice, or ICJ, despite several requests by Kenya to reach a settlement out of court.

Mogadishu severed diplomatic ties with Nairobi in December of last year over claims of Kenyan political interference in Somalia’s affairs, an accusation denied by Nairobi.

Analyst Ali Abdulkadir said the visit by the Kenyans is a sign of improving relations despite thorny issues on both sides.

He said the disagreement over the maritime border has been the main cause of the diplomatic dispute over the years, adding that since Kenya acknowledged that the case at ICJ is irreversible, there has been a need to improve bilateral relations.

Kenya is among countries that have contributed to the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia to fight armed group al-Shabab since a Kenyan troop incursion into southern Somalia in late 2011. The militants have carried out attacks inside Kenya since then.

Source: Voice of America

Mogadishu, Today, 108,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Somalia. The vaccines were donated by the Government of France through the COVAX Facility, a partnership between the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), in continued efforts to protect Somalia’s population from COVID-19.

“The Government of France is committed, along with the EU and COVAX partners, to help Somalia bolster vaccination efforts so that additional frontline workers and other high-risk populations in Somalia can be protected from COVID-19,” said Aline Kuster-Menager, the French Ambassador to Somalia. “This donation is part of a global effort from France: President Macron has pledged to give 60 million doses of the vaccine before the end of 2021. This is a global pandemic and France is committed to ensuring the equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine around the world. If we are to contain the spread of COVID-19, we have to work together.”

Since the outbreak began on March 2020, Somalia has reported a total of 15,257 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 including 789 deaths as of 24 July 2021. Owing to low vaccination coverage in the country where less than 1% of the country’s population are fully vaccinated, the country faces the dual challenge of improving the uptake amongst its general population as well as to ensure an equitable and predictable supply of COVID-19 vaccines to support an effective rollout of mass vaccination.

“The arrival of this new batch of COVID-19 vaccines comes at a critical time, as cases in Somalia are on the rise,” said HE Dr Fawziya Abikar Nur, Somalia’s Federal Minister of Health and Human Services. “The only way to stop the spread of the virus is to get the population vaccinated. We are grateful for this latest donation from the Government of France and I call on all those eligible to get vaccinated.”

Somalia will continue to prioritize frontline health and other essential workers, the elderly, and people with chronic health conditions in this next phase of the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine. To date, an estimated 186,094 people in Somalia have received their first dose of the vaccine and 92,792 have received their second.

“We appreciate the commitment of the French Government to ensure the equitable delivery of COVID-19 vaccines by providing much needed doses to Somalia,” said Mohamed Ayoya, UNICEF Somalia Representative. “This timely support will be critical in increasing the number of people vaccinated against COVID-19, particularly the health workers so they can continue to provide essential health care for Somali children and their families.”

WHO and UNICEF will continue to support the Ministry of Health to ensure the safe and equitable distribution of the vaccines through the management of cold chain systems and in the training of vaccinators and the monitoring of vaccine utilization. Efforts will also continue to promote the safety and uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“If we can end the pandemic in Somalia, we can end it everywhere. The country’s fragile health system, high number of its population, especially the high-risk people, still to be vaccinated can make the virus more transmissible and we risk emergence of a new variant of the virus in the country if we cannot roll out the vaccination programme against COVID-19 with speed and scale. The vaccines against the COVID-19 are remarkably safe and effective. These are our only hopes to end the pandemic from Somalia and elsewhere,” said Dr Mamunur Rahman Malik, WHO Representative to Somalia. “We remain thankful to the Government of France for their kind support in providing these vaccines for the people of Somalia.”

Source: Somali National News Agency

Mogadishu(SONNA)-Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kenya, H.E. Raychelle Omamo on Sunday arrived in the capital Mogadishu to hold talks with Somali Government officials on enhancing bilateral relations between the two nations, SONNA reported.

Somalia’s foreign Minister, Mohamed Abdirizak welcomed Mrs. Omamo and her delegation when landed at Aden Abdulle International Airport this morning.

The Kenyan Minister will also hold talks with Somali Prime Minister, H.E. Mohamed Hussein Roble and President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo during the visit here in Mogadishu.

Source: Somali National News Agency

Mogadishu(SONNA)-Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia, H.E. Mohamed Hussein Roble on Sunday met Raychllee Omamo, Minister of the Republic of Kenya and discussed on promoting diplomatic relations between the two countries, SONNA reported.

The Prime Minister received an official invitation from Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta that Mrs. Omamo conveyed Mr. Roble during their meeting.

Mr. Roble emphasized the importance of promoting the existing relations based on mutual interest between Somalia and Kenya

The Somali Government reiterated that it waits the decision from International Court of Justice about the case of the maritime dispute between the two sides.

Source: Somali National News Agency