The region is not at peace. Somalia remains troubled, largely by foreign agents who weaken its government, who divide its peoples, and who threaten to reverse the gains we have so painfully won under AMISOM.
Through it all, we remember that if our brothers and sisters in Somalia prosper, we prosper; if they are safe, so are we. It has been our policy, then, to help them regain the peace and prosperity they once knew.
We worked, and continue to work, to secure foreign funding and support commensurate to Somalia’s challenges; we helped, and will continue to help, the people of Somalia build a strong and stable government.
Indeed, that is why, only a few days after I spoke to this House last year, it was my pleasure to welcome President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed to State House in March, 2017, when we laid plans for a renewal of relations between our two nations. An early outcome of our agreements that day was the resumption of flights between Nairobi and Mogadishu; members may be sure that more will follow.
I cannot resist mentioning a visit to Somalia in the first quarter of last year, during which I spoke to our soldiers deployed in Somalia. Their courage and their devotion to their mission were extraordinarily inspiring. I ask you, Hon. Members, to keep them in your prayers and in your deliberations; and to devote yourself as wholeheartedly as they have to our region’s peace and the security.
