Vietnam calls for vigorous international support for the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Somalia in its endeavours to repel attempts to destroy the Djibouti peace process and spoil the efforts to bring peace and stability to the country.

The Vietnamese representative to the United Nations Security Council, Ambassador Le Luong Minh made the statement at the council’s briefing on Somalia in New York on July 29.

Ambassador Minh strongly condemned attacks against the TFG, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), UN staff and innocent civilians. “We are particularly concerned about the extremely alarming humanitarian situation in Somalia with over one million people internally displaced,” he said.

However, the diplomat commended the political progress achieved under the Djibouti Agreement and support the continued efforts undertaken by President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed to encourage parties that are still outside the agreement to join the national reconciliation process.

He took the occasion to call for UN member states and regional organisations to expedite the provision of contributions to the UN Trust Funds to provide the TFG with adequate assistance to rebuild Somalia ’s security institutions and train its security forces.

On the problem of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia , Ambassador Minh highlighted the effectiveness of the cooperation and coordination exhibited by UN Member States in the fight against piracy.

“We still believe that, in the long run, the scourge of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia will only be resolved thoroughly through an integrated approach that addresses the conflict, the lack of governance and the absence of sustainable livelihoods on land in Somalia ,” he noted.

He emphasised that solutions to peace and stability in Somalia requires closer cooperation and a more effective partnership between the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union (AU) and the League of Arab States (LAS).

“We continue to support a strong role of the UN in strengthening this cooperation and partnership with a view to assisting the Government and people of Somalia to bring about peace and stability for this country,” the Vietnamese diplomat stressed./.