Joint Communiqué 21st May, 2014
The Puntland Roundtable meeting with international partners took place in Garowe, the capital city of the Puntland State of Somalia on 21st May, 2014 at the Puntland Development and Research Center (PDRC).
The meeting was chaired by H.E. Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, the President of Puntland State of Somalia and was attended by delegations from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Turkey, UAE and the UK as well representatives from the African Union/AMISOM, European Union, IGAD, United Nations, and the World Bank. The Federal Government of Somalia was represented by the Minister of Planning and the Minister of Higher Education and Culture. Puntland civil society also attended.
We met at a key moment. Puntland State of Somalia has recently held remarkable elections and saw a peaceful transition of power for the fourth time in its fifteen-year history. International partners commended the Government and the Puntland people for their devotion to peace and stability.
Discussions mainly focused on the development needs of Puntland State as encapsulated in the Puntland Second Five-Year Development Plan (2014-2018) and the three year (2014-16) priority framework and its five peace building goals and allowed to consult on ways to fully embed Puntland in the New Deal process.
The international partners welcomed the strengthened engagement with Puntland State and committed to continue this form of dialogue. It was agreed that Puntland’s priorities should be taken into account in the Somali Compact and that Puntland’s participation in the New Deal aid architecture was important – particularly in the Somali Development and Reconstruction Facility (SRDF).
The Roundtable underlined the importance of ensuring equitable and fair development throughout Somalia and recognized the criticality of this issue in the New Deal.
Puntland leadership expressed gratitude to international partners for their continued and increasing support to the progress of Puntland State. Puntland welcomed IGAD’s plan to open an office in Garowe.
We reiterated the critical importance of joint planning with Puntland line Ministries for all development programmes. We encouraged partners, especially new donors, to contribute to funding for the Puntland Second Five-Year Development Plan.
We underscored the importance of rapidly extending coordination and funding mechanisms already in place at the Federal Government level to existing and future Federal States. We are committed to immediately and fully engage Puntland in these processes.
We acknowledged the nascent peace and stability in Puntland regions and agreed to consider financing investments in infrastructure through existing programmes and new Funds, including the planned Fund of the African Development Bank.
We expressed optimism that a new era of progress and development has started in Puntland. We acknowledged the good work underway in supporting the Puntland democratization efforts and welcomed the leadership of the new Ministry of Democratization.
We are determined to offer incentives to the People of Puntland and the Government to continue on this path of development. We committed to increase our long-term efforts to support economic growth and prosperity in Puntland.
SECURITY:
We condemned terrorism and violent extremism, whether perpetrated by Somalis or foreigners.
The meeting noted that Puntland has faced and continues to fight terrorism in its region, especially in the Galgala mountains where Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaeda has sought refuge from the operations in southern Somalia. The situation remains precarious, and in urgent need of support from international partners.
We called upon the international partners to provide logistical support to Puntland in its operations against Al-Shabaab. We welcomed AMISOM’s announcement to deploy police to assist in trainings and in logistical support in the fight against Al-Shabaab.
We recognized that sustainable security throughout Puntland requires a holistic approach ranging from rule of law to maritime security. We recommended an expansion of support to communities to tackle the underlying causes of piracy through a livelihood approach. We welcomed the efforts of donors who have invested in the construction and rehabilitation of prisons in Puntland to meet international standards. We welcomed proposals to create courts in Puntland specialised in dealing with piracy.
In attendance:
Puntland State of Somalia
Federal Government of Somalia
Royal Danish Embassy
Embassy of the French Republic
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
Embassy of the Italian Republic
Royal Norwegian Embassy
Embassy of Sweden
Embassy of the Republic of Turkey
Embassy of the United Arab Emirates
UK Department for International Development
African Union/AMISOM
European Union
Intergovernmental Authority on Development
United Nations
World Bank
Puntland Non-State Actors Association (PUNSAA)