UN Special Representative Welcomes Announcement of Parliamentary Meeting in Somalia and Urges Donors to Provide Effective Financial and Logistical Support

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Nairobi – January 30, 2006: The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia (SRSG), Francois Lonseny Fall, today welcomed on behalf of the UN and the International Community, an announcement that the Transitional Federal Parliament would meet in Baidoa on 26 February. The scheduled meeting would be the first convening of the now 15 month old Somali parliament inside the country. The announcement was made in Nairobi today by the Speaker of the Transitional Federal Parliament, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden.

“This is a very positive development,” Ambassador Fall said. “It is the result of a lot of hard work and commitment on the part of the leaders of the Somali Transitional Federal Institutions. I warmly congratulate President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi on this announcement. “

Ambassador Fall said the convening of parliament would be the first step in transforming the Somali Transitional Federal Institutions into effective government bodies. “Somalia has not had a functional state for 15 years and this is an important step not only for the nation but for the entire region,” he said.

Ambassador Fall encouraged all members of the parliament to attend the meeting. “The future of their country is now in their hands,” he said. “I want to echo the sentiment of the Aden Declaration by urging all the MPs to “come together and unite, placing the supreme interests of the nation above selfishness.”

Ambassador Fall said that the United Nations was ready to provide its full political support to the meeting and he called on the donor community to provide the effective financial and logistical support to convene it.

For more information please contact: UN Political Office for Somalia(Nairobi, Kenya) Tel. +254 20 762 21 31 Please visit: www.UN-Somalia.org