JEFFREY FELTMAN

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs

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CLOSING REMARKS AT MINISTERIAL HIGH LEVEL PARTNERSHIP FORUM ON SOMALIA

Copenhagen, 19 November 2014

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This has been a rich day of discussions.

I will not attempt to summarize all our deliberations, but let me review the salient points.

First, I welcome the agreement we have heard on the need for an arrangement to ensure political unity, continuity and stability.

We welcome the process initiated by IGAD to facilitate dialogue to this end.

We have agreed to come together within 6 months, to evaluate progress on the political process, implementation of Vision 2016, and security.

Recognizing the recent military gains, we have reaffirmed our commitment to the conclusions of the London Security Event.

We have also reaffirmed the importance of stabilization activities, both governance and peace dividends; and highlighted the need to link the process of establishing local administrations to the state formation process.

We have agreed on the need to redouble our respective efforts on financial accountability and transparency, and to implement together the principles of the New Deal.

We have renewed our partnership and revalidated the Compact as the path and process whereby we work jointly for a peaceful, united and prosperous Somalia.

Finally, we finish our work today conscious of the urgency of delivering for the citizens of Somalia – on political unity, on stability, on security, on prosperity.

The past year has seen advances in our partnership, but activities in all areas need to be stepped up. Now is the time to show results. We cannot afford delays. Ultimately, the people of Somalia will be our judge; we must be ready to stand before them.