BRUSSELS — An informal ministerial meeting was held in Brussels Friday between the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, together with the EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid Christos Stylianides, and Foreign Ministers of the member countries of Inter-governmental Authority for Development (IGAD).
According to a statement released Mogherini’s office, the meeting was also attended by IGAD’s Executive Secretary Mahboub Maalim.
This was the second informal meeting between Mogherini and the Foreign Ministers of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda, who had also met in March 2017 in the margins of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa.
Mogherini underlined the EU’s continued engagement and support to the security and stability of the Horn of Africa through close political ties, as well as the EU’s substantial cooperation and security commitments.
The EU commended IGAD’s important initiatives to manage the reconciliation processes in Somalia and South Sudan. All sides agreed on the crucial importance of Somalia’s security and state building progress for the stability of the region.
Finally, both sides reaffirmed their willingness to ensure a substantial outcome of the upcoming AU-EU summit to be held in Ivory Coast on 29-30 November 2017.
