EUCAP Nestor Head of Mission meets Somalia’s President
To mark the end of his two year mandate as EUCAP Nestor Head of Mission, Mr. Etienne de Poncins paid a final courtesy call on HE the President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia on June 29th . During the visit at Villa Somalia in Mogadishu, Mr de Poncins recalled that that EUCAP Nestor was launched in July 2012 as a regional Mission covering Djibouti, Somalia, Tanzania and the Seychelles and advised the President that it is in the process of being refocused as a Somalia-only Mission. The outgoing HoM of EUCAP Nestor took the opportunity to brief the President on progress by EUCAP Nestor in its efforts to support maritime security capacity in Somalia. In this context, Mr de Poncins underlined the importance of ongoing efforts by the Somali Federal Government to establish clear maritime security governance structures and coordination mechanisms involving all relevant actors at both the regional, national and international level . He expressed the hope that the Coast Guard bill would be presented to Parliament as soon as possible.”
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud thanked Mr. de Poncins for his personal commitment and dedication in favour of Somalia. He saluted him as a long and lasting true friend of Somalia. Somalia’s President wished Mr de Poncins all the best for the next step of his career and expressed appreciation for the work done by EUCAP Nestor to date.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud welcomed the Mission’s renewed focus on Somalia and reaffirmed the commitment of the Somali Federal Government to fight piracy and its root causes.
Background
EUCAP Nestor is a civilian EU mission, under the auspices of the Common Security and Defence Policy, which assists host countries in the Horn of Africa and Western Indian Ocean region in strengthening their capacity to ensure maritime security and in particular to fight piracy.
