"The United Kingdom will provide an additional 21 million pounds over the next two years to bolster our existing efforts to provide training and mentoring to the Somalia national army and support wider capacity building for Somalian institutions. And I strongly encourage others here today to make their own commitments to support this process and to do so at the latest by the time of the next security conference in October," May said at a the conference aimed at providing support for the African country.
May stressed that it was crucial for Somalia to take control of its security to reach progress in the political and economic spheres.
Somalia cannot expect international contribution of troops indefinitely, May noted, adding that at present, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Turkey assist Somalia in training its own forces.
London is willing to see Somalian regional forces’ integration as it was necessary to counter the militants of Al-Shabaab terrorist group, linked to al-Qaeda and outlawed in Russia, and exert pressure on the affiliate of the Islamic State (IS, also banned in Russia) terror organization in the country, May added.
In late January, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) named persistent armed conflict as well as drought and a forecast of poor spring rains as reasons for famine in Somalia.
Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!
