STORY: Somalia Partnership Forum opens in Mogadishu

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LANGUAGE: ENGLISH NATURAL SOUND
DATELINE: 1/OCTOBER/2019, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

SHOT LIST:

1. Wide shot, representatives of the Federal Government of Somalia and country's

international partners including the United Nations and AMISOM, and civil society
organisations attending
2. Med shot, James Swan, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
Somalia, H.E Mahdi Mohammed Guled, Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal
Government of Somalia, and Ambassador Francisco Madeira, Special Representative
of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia (SRCC) at the Forum
3. Med shot, representatives of the international community
4. Med shot, senior officials of the Federal Government of Somalia
5. Close up shot, participants at the Forum
6. Med shot, Prime Minister Guled addressing the SPF participants
7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mahdi Mohammed Gulaid, Deputy Prime Minister,
Federal Government of Somalia
"Somalia continues to make ever increasing strides in overcoming challenges it
presently faces on security, economic recovery and social development. These
landmark achievements so far have been made thanks to the commitment from
Somali political stakeholders with generous financial and technical assistance from
our international partners,"

8. Med shot, participants at the forum

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mahdi Mohammed Gulaid, Deputy Prime Minister,
Federal Government of Somalia
"Despite the promising prospects we are under no illusions to underestimate the
myriad of challenges ahead of the country's road to full recovery which demands
concerted political and financial commitments from both local stakeholders and
international partners,"

10. Med shot, Ambassadors to Somalia from the United Kingdom and the United
States at the forum
11. Wide shot, participants listening to SRSG James Swan
12. Med shot, Ambassadors to Somalia from Norway, Ethiopia and Germany taking
notes
13. Wide shot, participants listening
14. Med shot, SRSG James Swan speaking
15. SOUNDBITE: (English) James Swan, UN Secretary-General's Special
Representative for Somalia
"This Somalia Partnership Forum now offers an opportunity to chart a course
forward for the next 12 to 15 months, with clearly defined priority objectives and
timelines. While acknowledging – indeed, celebrating – the progress to date, we
must also be honest and frank about the challenges that remain. And, together, we
must redouble our efforts to overcome these challenges and ensure that 2020 is the
year of delivery on the most important priorities,"

16. Med shot, senior officials of the Federal Government of Somalia

17. Med shot, Ambassadors to Somalia from Italy, Egypt and Kenya attending
18. Med shot, participants at the forum
19. SOUNDBITE: (English) James Swan, UN Secretary-General's Special
Representative for Somalia
"The United Nations family is engaged across a wide range of the objectives in
Somalia’s roadmaps for inclusive politics, security and Justice, economic reform, and
social development. In all that we do, we are mindful of cross-cutting objectives of
women’s empowerment, youth engagement, and respect for principles of human
rights and humanitarian law, among others,"

20. Wide shot, participants at the forum

21. Med shot, Somalia’s International partners attending
22. Close up shot, a participant listening
23. Med shot, Somalia women civil society representatives at the forum
24. close up shot, a participant taking notes
25. Wide shot, participants listening
26. James Swan, UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia
"As we focus together on the coming year, among specific priorities we particularly
look forward to discussing today are:;
preparations for national elections and the constitutional review, to be completed
within the agreed timelines; plans for further action to degrade Al Shabaab and build
Somali security and justice institutions, using the principles of the Comprehensive
Approach to Security; next steps to meet requirements for the heavily indebted poor
countries debt relief programme by early 2020,”

27. Wide shot, SRCC Ambassador Francisco Madeira speaking

28. Med shot, SRCC Ambassador Francisco Madeira
29. Med shot, SRSG James Swan and Mahdi Mohammed Guled, Deputy Prime
minister, Federal Government of Somalia listening
30. Med shot, participants taking notes
31. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ambassador Francisco Madeira, Special Representative
of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia
"This is a telling message that Somalia has come a long way in building a conducive
environment and capacity to perform its role as a fully fledged member of the
international community, including the capacity to host international conferences
like this one, in its own territory.’,

32. Wide shot, participants attending the Somalia Partnership Forum

Somalia Partnership Forum opens in Mogadishu

Mogadishu, 1 October 2019 – The Federal Government of Somalia and its international
partners gathered in the country’s capital today for the 2019 Somalia Partnership Forum
(SPF) – an opportunity for all concerned to take stock of the progress made by the country
as well as agree on priorities ahead.

"The landmark achievements registered so far have been made possible due to the
commitment from Somalia’s political stakeholders with generous financial and technical
assistance from our partners," said Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Mahdi Mohammed
Gulaid, in his remarks at the two-day event’s opening.

"Despite the promising prospects,” he added, “we are under no illusion to underestimate
the myriad of challenges ahead for the country's road to full recovery, which demands
concerted political and financial commitments from both local stakeholders and
international partners.”

Leading today’s discussions alongside the Deputy Prime Minister were the UN Secretary-
General’s Special Representative for Somalia, James Swan, and the Special Representative of
the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco
Madeira.
The discussions among the Somali officials, ambassadors and other representatives centred
on the areas of economic reform, security and justice reform, inclusive politics, social
development and the principles of partnership.

In his remarks at the opening, Mr. Swan noted that despite the gains made so far, there was
a need to set clear objectives and timelines with the goal of delivering on the set priorities
by 2020.

“This Somalia Partnership Forum now offers an opportunity to chart a course forward for
the next 12 to 15 months, with clearly defined priority objectives and timelines. While
acknowledging – indeed, celebrating – progress to date, we must also be honest and frank
about the challenges that remain,” the UN envoy said. “And, together, we must redouble
efforts to overcome these challenges and ensure that 2020 is the year of delivery on the
most important priorities.”

Focus on MAF

Mr. Swan noted that the intent was to focus on the so-called Mutual Accountability
Framework (MAF) for 2019-2020, and have an active discussion and exchange of ideas for
how to implement its content.

“Today, I suggest we seize the opportunity of so many friends of Somalia gathered around
this table to emphasize concrete steps needed for implementation of priority commitments
agreed in the Mutual Accountability Framework,” the UN Special Representative said.

The MAF details the joint commitments of Somalia and its international partners in the areas
of political reforms, security, economic development, and recovery and humanitarian
assistance, as the country rebuilds after decades of armed conflict and climate-related
shocks.

Mr. Swan noted that amidst the focus on specific priorities for the coming year, the
following were particularly looked forward to in the day’s discussions: preparations for
national elections and the constitutional review, to be completed within the agreed
timelines; plans for further action to degrade Al-Shabaab and build Somali security and
justice institutions, using the principles of the plan known as the Comprehensive Approach
to Security; next steps to meet requirements for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
Initiative for debt relief by early 2020; and the collective response to the pressing needs of
Somalia’s people by building resilience and sustainable development for Somalis, in keeping
with partnership principles.

Later, during discussions on inclusive politics, Mr. Swan – who also heads the UN Assistance
Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) – highlighted that all sectors of Somali society needed to be
included in the political decision-making process, particularly women and youth, noting that
“politics in Somalia cannot be fully inclusive without the meaningful participation of these
large segments of the population.
This year’s Somalia Partnership Forum is the fourth of its kind, and the second time Somalia
has hosted it, with the first time having taken place in December 2017. Last year, the
conference was held in the Belgian capital of Brussels.

Speaking on behalf of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Amb. Madeira noted
in his opening remarks that he was pleased that the SPF was being held in the Horn of Africa
country.

"This is a telling message that Somalia has come a long way in building a conducive
environment and capacity to perform its role as a fully-fledged member of the international
community, including the capacity to host international conferences like this one, in its own
territory," he said.

The gathering continues and concludes on Wednesday, at which it will hear further from the
country’s federal authorities as well as participating Federal Member States, and after which
a communique on the way forward is expected to be issued.