MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – The African Union High-level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) is trying to convince Somalia the objectives of regional integration in the Horn of Africa.
AU officials led by former South African President, Thabo Mbeki who arrived in Mogadishu on Saturday for high-level talks with Somali President, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo.
The visit follows a mandate given to the panel by the AU to ensure that the countries of the Horn of Africa deal with matters of peace and security and economic integration in a holistic manner, in order to enjoy the benefits that come with regional integration.
Mr. Mbeki said that it was important that in discussing regional integration, the first and principal contact be the countries of the Horn of Africa themselves.
“One of the matters which the continent needed to look at was the issue of addressing, in a holistic way, the challenges facing the Horn of Africa. A decision (of the AU) said that it would help the Horn of Africa region, but also have a positive impact on the continent as a whole if the Horn of Africa moved towards integration,” Mr. Mbeki stated.
Mr. Mbeki said, would be hinged on three pillars, which, among other things, would culminate in the countries of the region developing a common security architecture
“We need to focus on three matters; first, what needs to be done to ensure that the Horn of Africa region develops a common security architecture. The other one would be about economic integration and what needs to be done with regard to that particular matter and the third would be relating to the political matters that are relevant to this issue of regional cooperation and integration,” Mr. Mbeki explained.
The meeting was also attended by the Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia, HE Madhi Mohamed Guled; Somalia’s minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ahmed Isse Awad; HE Lamamra Ramtane, the AU Special Envoy for Silencing the Guns and Dr. Mohamed Guyo, the IGAD Special Envoy for the Red Sea.
The visit by the panel to Somalia is part of a tour of countries in the region, seeking their views on the issue of integration and other matters, making Somalia the second country in the region to be visited by the panel after Kenya.
The panel, comprising officials from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the United Nations, will also interact with the leadership of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the United Nations Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), the diplomatic community, civil society, and other stakeholders.
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