SOMALIA / GALMUDUG SRSG VISIT

STORY: SOMALIA / GALMUDUG SRSG VISIT
TRT: 07:38
SOURCE: UNSOM
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / SOMALI / NATS

DATELINE: 15 JULY 2023, DHUSAMAREB, SOMALIA

1. Wide shot, The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, Catriona Laing, departing Aden Abdulle International Airport for Dhusamareb
2. Wide shot, UN Special Representative Laing in the plane heading to Dhusamareb
3. Close up, UN Special Representative Laing in the plane heading to Dhusamareb
4. Close up, UN Special Representative Laing going through her notes in the plane
5. Med shot, UN Special Representative Laing in the plane heading to Dhusamareb
6. Wide shot, view of the sky from the window of the plane
7. Aerial shot, Dhusamareb
8. Wide shot, UN Special Representative Laing disembarking from the plane
9. Med shot, UN Special Representative Laing being received at the airport by government officials
10. Wide shot, UN Special Representative Laing being escorted out of the airfield
11. Wide shot, UN Special Representative Laing’s convoy heading to the State House in Dhusamareb
12. Med shot, UN Special Representative Laing’s convoy heading to the State House in Dhusamareb
13. Wide shot, the state house in Dhusamareb
14. Close up, flags blowing in the wind
15. Wide shot, UN Special Representative Laing, UN and Galmudug State officials arriving at the State House
16. Med shot, UN Special Representative Laing, UN and Galmudug State officials arriving at the State House
17. Wide shot, UN Special Representative Laing; Galmudug President, Ahmed Abdi Karie ‘Qoorqoor’, UN and Galmudug State officials in a meeting
18. Med shot, UN Special Representative Laing and President Karie in a meeting
19. Close up, UN Special Representative Laing in a meeting with President Karie
20. Med shot, some of the UN staff members at the meeting
21. Close up, some of the UN staff members at the meeting
22. Wide shot, Galmudug state officials during the meeting
23. Med shot, Galmudug state officials during the meeting
24. Wide shot, journalists cover proceedings during the meeting
25. Wide shot, UN Special Representative Laing and President Karie during the press conference
26. Med shot, UN Special Representative Laing and President Karie during the press conference
27. Close up, UN Special Representative Laing during the press conference
28. Med shot, some of the Galmudug state officials during the press conference
29. SOUNDBITE (English) Catriona Laing, UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia:
“We had a really fruitful initial meeting and covered a lot of ground. We started discussing national issues and the various consultations that are going on regarding the National Consultative Council process and I commended the president for his commitment to that widening inclusive consultation including with civil society, with elders with women and with youth because it is so important as Somalia continues the state building process the people of Somalia, opposition leaders and others are brought into this genuine inclusive dialogue. Secondly, we talked about the progress Galmudug has made on local democracy and preparations which I understand are very well advanced for one-person, one-vote district elections here. The United Nations is fully committed to support Galmudug and we are already working with you to prepare for those local elections We moved on to talk about security here and I commended the President for the work he had done to create a stable environment including of course reclaiming territory from Al Shabab which has made great progress. We discussed the importance of following on military operation with stabilization efforts to ensure the area remains secure including of course provision of police and I am pleased to hear 400 local state police have been established now and I committed United Nations to fully come in and support stabilization efforts. We finally discussed the very important progress we are making on establishing United Nations office here in Galmudug. We now have land in Hero Drogo here in the capital and we agreed we should fast-track that work as soon as we possibly can, whilst we already have a very strong partnership with the UN obviously would be much easier to deepen that partnership and for the various UN agencies, funds and programmes to establish a presence here and to strengthen the partnership going forward.”
30. Various shot, press conference
31. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Ahmed Abdi Karie, President of Galmudug:
“We discussed important issues including the National Consultative Council as well the national elections issues. We also discussed the stabilisation of areas liberated from Al Shabab terrorists in Galmudug. We also discussed the ongoing operations against Al Shabab. We have agreed on all issues we have discussed so far. We are glad to receive you here in Galmudug and we will cooperate with the UN on all fronts.”
32. Wide shot, UN Special Representative Laing and President Karie at the end of press conference
33. Wide shot, UN Special Representative Laing, President Karie, UN and Galmudug State officials leaving the State House
34. Med shot, President Karie seeing off UN Special Representative Laing
35. Wide shot, UN Special Representative Laing’s convoy heading to the airport in Dhusamareb
36. Med shot, UN Special Representative Laing’s convoy heading to the airport in Dhusamareb
37. Wide shot, UN Special Representative Laing greeting the ATMIS Djibouti Contingent Commander for Dhusamareb
38. Wide shot, ATMIS Djibouti Contingent Commander in Dhusamareb in a meeting with the UN Special Representative Laing
39. Med shot, ATMIS Djibouti Contingent Commander in Dhusamareb in a meeting with the UN Special Representative Laing
40. Close up, ATMIS Djibouti Contingent Commander in Dhusamareb in a meeting with the UN Special Representative Laing
41. Close up, ATMIS Djibouti Contingent Commander in Dhusamareb in a meeting with the UN Special Representative Laing
42. Wide shot, UN Special Representative Laing heading to the plane
43. Med shot, UN Special Representative Laing embarking on the plane to Mogadishu
44. Med shot, The plane taking off at the airport in Dhusamareb
45. Wide shot, The plane taking off at the airport in Dhusamareb

Catriona Laing, the top United Nations official for Somalia, on Saturday (15 July) visited Galmudug, where she met with its leadership to discuss topics including state-building, security, local democracy and the establishment of a UN office.

"We've had a really fruitful initial meeting and covered a lot of ground. We started discussing national issues and the various consultations that are going on regarding the National Consultative Council process," said the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Catriona Laing.

"I commended the President for his commitment to a wide and inclusive consultation, including with civil society, with elders, with women, and with youth, because it is so important, as Somalia continues this state-building process, that the people of Somalia, opposition leaders, and others are brought into this genuine, inclusive dialogue," she added.

The UN Special Representative made her remarks at a joint media encounter in Dhusamareb, the state capital, alongside Galmudug’s President Ahmed Abdi Karie ‘Qoorqoor,’ with whom she had met earlier. The top UN official said the discussions were an opportunity to learn more about the security situation in Galmudug as well as stabilisation efforts in newly recovered areas.

"We discussed the importance of following up military operations with stabilisation efforts to ensure the area remains secure, including, of course, the provision of police. And I committed the United Nations to fully come in and support those stabilisation efforts," Laing said.

“An enduring police presence in the reclaimed areas and then the provision of basic services provides the opportunity for people to rebuild their livelihoods because it's so important for people to see that the government is there to support them,” she added.

Discussions also touched on Galmudug’s progress on local democracy and the preparations for one-person-one-vote district elections. "The United Nations is fully committed to supporting Galmudug and is already working with you to prepare for those local elections," Laing said.

The UN Special Representative also discussed the establishment of a United Nations office in Galmudug. "We now have land in Hero Drogo, here in the capital, and we agreed we should fast-track that work as soon as we possibly can. While we already have a very strong partnership with you, it will obviously be much easier to strengthen and deepen that partnership and for the various UN Agencies, funds, and programmes to establish a presence here and strengthen the partnership going forward," Laing said.

In June this year, the long-awaited construction of what will become the United Nations Office at Hero Drogo in Dhusamareb was launched. Galmudug has remained the only federal member state without a UN presence, but this will now change, paving the way for increased collaboration, better coordination, and enhanced programme delivery for the government and the people of Galmudug.

Currently, the United Nations family in Somalia has been supporting Galmudug remotely and through regular visits and will continue its regular engagement and support in this manner until the office is opened.

Various UN agencies, funds and programmes have already expressed interest in locating staff and resources in Galmudug once the office is built. The UN Special Representative’s visit to Galmudug was part of her initial familiarisation visits to Federal member states.

Since her arrival in early June, she has visited and had discussions with the presidents of Hirshabelle, Puntland, South West State and Jubaland.