01 April 2009

Somalia's new interim government, led by Islamist moderate Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, has received an $18 million donation from the Arab summit that concluded Tuesday in Qatar, Radio Garowe reports.

President Sheikh Sharif offered a long speech at the summit in Doha, the capital of Qatar, where Arab leaders discussed situations in several countries, including Sudan, Iraq and Somalia.

"Even though the [Somali] government wants to restore national security, there are opposition groups...we will try to convince them peacefully," the Somali president said.

He appealed for financial assistance from Arab countries, saying that Somalia's new government needs funding support to establish governance organs in a country torn apart of 18 years of conflict.

"We have enacted a strategy to control government revenue and international donations, in order to ensure the reconstruction effort in Somalia," President Sheikh Sharif added.

He stated that the Somali people still remember help from Arab countries during the Horn of Africa country's long civil war, saying: "Your Somali brothers are waiting for your help, especially now that there is a drought with food and water shortage, and they are expecting a brotherly hand."

Speaking about regional security, Sheikh Sharif indicated that his government's plan was to guarantee that Somalia did not pose security threats to its African neighbors or the rest of the world.

The Somali President spoke briefly about piracy, arguing that the new government in Mogadishu plans to "protect its territorial waters" from a surge of ship hijackings off the Somali coast since 2007.

The Arab summit's conclusion in Doha ended with a $18m donation to the Somali government, sources reported.

The donation, which will be channeled through the Arab League, becomes the first donation by Arab nations to the government led by President Sheikh Sharif, which came to power in January.

The $18m donation will be handed over to the Somali government over the course of six months, giving the new government in Mogadishu a funding boost to undertake security and reconstruction efforts.

Sources close to the Somali president's delegation in Doha said they were "unsatisfied" with the donation, but that President Sheikh Sharif was informed to hold "private meetings" with Arab leaders and ask for more funding support.

President Sheikh Sharif's UN-endorsed government, which has a two-year governing mandate, faces many challenges including Islamist rebels who have rejected the government as a puppet of the West.

Islamist opposition factions control large swathes of the country, including the key southern towns of Kismayo, Baidoa and Marka.

The government only controls a few pockets of war-torn Mogadishu, where a 4,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force (AMISOM) has come under Islamist insurgent attacks.

In the north, the separatist republic of Somaliland has categorically refused to recognize Sheikh Sharif's presidency, while the Puntland regional autonomy has warned strongly against centralism. READ: Puntland leader defends federalism, criticized AFP report

Somalia has been mired in political anarchy since 1991, when the country's last effective ruler was overthrown. President Sheikh Sharif's government is the 15th attempt to restore national order with the help of the international community.