No: 48, 22 February 2016

The “New Deal for Somalia” process has been launched by the international community to ensure the coordination of international aid disbursement, enhance its effectiveness and reinforce Somali ownership with a view to maintaining peace and state-building in Somalia. The Somalia High Level Partnership Forum is the highest decision-making mechanism of this process in which the Somali Government, the United Nations (UN) and key donor countries are parties.

The sixth meeting of the Forum will be held at Ministerial level on 23-24 February 2016 in Istanbul under the co-chairmanship of H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey, H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of Somalia and H.E. Jan Eliasson, UN Deputy Secretary-General.

In the Forum, to be attended by 50 countries and 12 international organizations, the Federal Government of Somalia as well as the leaders of the regional governments will be present.

Security situation, peace and state-building efforts, political reconciliation, federalization, democratization and election processes, constitutional reform, financial issues and socio-economic development in Somalia will be discussed at the Forum.

H.E. Bekir Bozdağ, Minister of Justice, and H.E. Mustafa Elitaş, Minister of Economy will chair the relevant sessions of the Forum. H.E. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs will conclude the Ministerial level discussions at the end of the first day, in which a final communique is to be adopted. The Forum, following the technical discussions at the senior officials’ level in the second day, will end by the speech of Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Yalçın Akdoğan on 24 February.

Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu will also hold bilateral talks with his counterparts, who will participate in the Forum.

In the margins of the Forum, on 22 February, Turkey will host “Turkey-Somalia Business and Investment Forum”, where H.E. Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, Prime Minister of Somalia and H.E Lütfi Elvan, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey will deliver speeches. Furthermore, Turkey will organize a side event titled “Empowerment of Women and Youth in Somalia: Active Participation in the Economic and Social Life". Somali youth and women entrepreneurs, representing different regions of Somalia, will attend the event.

The High-Level Partnership Forum on Somalia will be a concrete manifestation of the comprehensive policy that Turkey pursues in cooperation with the international community towards the establishment of the state institutions, as well as peace and stability in Somalia.