Vietnam welcomes the ongoing political process in Somalia, especially the Djibouti agreement reached between the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and the Alliance for Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), thus paving the way for the implementation of the country’s national reconciliation process.

Vietnamese permanent representative to the UN Security Council Ambassador Le Luong Minh made the statement at a UNSC private debate on the situation in Somalia on July 23.

Ambassador Minh expressed his concern over the security and humanitarian situation in Somalia, notably the brutal killing of the acting head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) office. “We call upon the TFG to urgently carry out an investigation and bring perpetrators to justice,” the Vietnamese diplomat said.

The Vietnamese representative shared the same view with the UN Secretary General, saying that the Somali people have been facing continued drought, conflict as well as economic crisis and the TFG needs to take “simultaneous action on both political and security fronts”.

The Vietnamese diplomat took the occasion to commend the efforts taken by the UN Political Office in Somalia (UNPOS) and other regional organisations to promote dialogue and mobilize international support for peace, security and development in Somalia.

He also hailed the Government of Djibouti’s mediating role in facilitating numerous rounds of talks between the TFG and the parties concerned which resulted in the Djibouti Agreement.

Ambassador Minh called on the UN, in coordination with regional organisations, to “extend necessary financial, logistical and technical assistance to the TFG.”

He voiced his support for the convening of a UN-African Union Donor Conference for Somalia and steps undertaken to achieve early deployment of an international stabilization force in Somalia as requested by the Government of Somalia and the AU and articulated in relevant resolutions of the Security Council on Somalia.

Source: VNA