Remarks With President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud After Their Meeting
January 18, 2012 Markacadeey
SECRETARY CLINTON: Good afternoon, everyone. It is a great privilege
for us to be welcoming President Hassan Sheikh and his delegation here to the
State Department. Today’s meeting has been a long time in the making. Four years
ago, at the start of the Obama Administration, Somalia was, in many ways, a
different country than it is today. The people and leaders of Somalia have
fought and sacrificed to bring greater stability, security, and peace to their
nation.
There is still a long way to go and many challenges to confront, but we have
seen a new foundation for that better future being laid. And today, we are
taking an important step toward that future. I am delighted to announce that for
the first time since 1991, the United States is recognizing the Government of
Somalia.
Now before I talk about what comes next for this partnership, it
is worth taking a moment to remember how we got here and how far we have come
together. When I entered the State Department in January 2009, al-Shabaab
controlled most of Mogadishu and south and central Somalia. It looked at the
time like it would even gain more territory. The people of Somalia had already
endured many years of violence and isolation, and we wanted to change that. We
wanted to work together, not only with the people of Somalia but with
governments across the region, the international community, and other likeminded
friends.
In early 2009, the final Transitional Federal Government began
its work. Somali security forces, supported by the African Union Mission in
Somalia, and troops from Uganda and Burundi and now Kenya and Djibouti began to
drive al-Shabaab out of cities and towns. Humanitarian aid finally began getting
to the people in need. Local governments resumed their work. Commerce and travel
began to pick up. Now progress was halting at times, but it was unmistakable.
And today, thanks to the extraordinary partnership between the leaders and
people of Somalia, with international supporters, al-Shabaab has been driven
from Mogadishu and every other major city in Somalia.
While this fight
was going on, at the same time, Somalia’s leaders worked to create a functioning
democratic government. Now that process, too, was quite challenging. But today,
for the first time in two decades, this country has a representative government
with a new president, a new parliament, a new prime minister, and a new
constitution. Somalia’s leaders are well aware of the work that lies ahead of
them, and that it will be hard work. But they have entered into this important
mission with a level of commitment that we find admirable.
So Somalia has
the chance to write a new chapter. When Assistant Secretary Carson visited
Mogadishu in June, the first U.S. Assistant Secretary to do so in more than 20
years, and when Under Secretary Sherman visited a few months ago, they
discovered a new sense of optimism and opportunity. Now we want to translate
that into lasting progress.
Somalia’s transformation was achieved first
and foremost by the people and leaders of Somalia, backed by strong, African-led
support. We also want to thank the African Union, which deserves a great deal of
credit for Somalia’s success. The United States was proud to support this
effort. We provided more than $650 million in assistance to the African Union
Mission in Somalia, more than 130 million to Somalia’s security forces. In the
past two years, we’ve given nearly $360 million in emergency humanitarian
assistance and more than $45 million in development-related assistance to help
rebuild Somalia’s economy. And we have provided more than $200 million
throughout the Horn of Africa for Somali refugee assistance.
We’ve also
concentrated a lot of our diplomacy on supporting democratic progress. And this
has been a personal priority for me during my time as Secretary, so I’m very
pleased that in my last weeks here, Mr. President, we’re taking this historic
step of recognizing the government.
Now, we will continue to work
closely, and the President and I had a chance to discuss in detail some of the
work that lies ahead and what the government and people of Somalia are asking of
the United States now. Our diplomats, our development experts are traveling more
frequently there, and I do look forward to the day when we can reestablish a
permanent U.S. diplomatic presence in Mogadishu.
We will also continue,
as we well know, to face the threat of terrorism and violent extremism. It is
not just a problem in Somalia; it is a problem across the region. The
terrorists, as we have learned once again in the last days, are not resting, and
neither will we. We will be very clear-eyed and realistic about the threat they
continue to pose. We have particular concerns about the dangers facing displaced
people, especially women, who continue to be vulnerable to violence, rape, and
exploitation.
So today is a milestone. It’s not the end of the journey
but it’s an important milestone to that end. We respect the sovereignty of
Somalia, and as two sovereign nations we will continue to have an open,
transparent dialogue about what more we can do to help the people of Somalia
realize their own dreams.
The President had a chance to meet President
Obama earlier today at the White House, and that was a very strong signal to the
people of Somalia of our continuing support and commitment. So as you, Mr.
President, and your leaders work to build democratic institutions, protect human
rights and fundamental freedoms, respond to humanitarian needs, build the
economy, please know that the United States will be a steadfast partner with you
every step of the way. Thank you.
PRESIDENT HASSAN SHEIKH: Thank you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you, sir.
PRESIDENT HASSAN SHEIKH: Thank
you, Madam Secretary, for the great words that you expressed on the realities on
the ground in Somalia and the future of Somalia and the future of the
relationship between Somalia and the United States.
First of all, I would
like to thank the Government and the people of the United States of America for
the warm welcome accorded to me and to my delegation for the last two days. I am
very pleased and honored to come to Washington and to meet Madam Secretary to
discuss on bilateral issues and the mutual interests of our two countries. And
Somalia is very grateful for the unwavering support from the United States to
the people of Somalia. U.S. is a major donor to Somalia, which include
humanitarian assistance and help toward security. We both have common interests
and common enemy, which we must redouble our efforts to bring peace and
stability in Somalia.
Somalia is emerging from a very long, difficult
period, and we are now moving away from the chaos, instability, extremism,
piracy, an era, to an era of peaceful and development. We are aiming to make a
valuable contribution to the region and the world at large.
Today I
provided an update of the huge progress made in the areas of security, political
development, social services, and establishing reliable and credible governance
institutions to Madam Secretary. This is an excellent time to me to visit the
U.S.A. and to meet with U.S. leaders here in Washington, as Somalia is entering
a new phase which requires from all of us to work hard with a very few to bring
peace with a heart and view to bring peace and stability in Somalia.
Today, we had fruitful and frank discussions on many subjects that are of mutual
interest to all of us and to the world at large. I am encouraged by the
(inaudible) the energy, the willingness of interest shown to me and my country,
and I am hopeful that Somalia will reclaim its role in the international
landscape and play a more active and useful member of the nations of the world.
We are working for a Somalia that is at peace with itself and with its
neighbors, where its citizens can go about their daily lives in safety, provided
their families with confidence and gratefulness. Instability, violent extremism,
and crime in Somalia are a threat not only to Somalia, but to the region and the
world at large. We look to the future with hope, pride, and optimism.
And
finally, I wish Madam Secretary all of the best for her future, and we all miss
her greatly, and a warm welcome to the new Secretary of State and the new
administration that will take over. Somalia will remain grateful to the
unwavering support from the United States Government in the last 22 years that
Somalia was in a difficult era. We remain and we will remain grateful to that
(inaudible). And I say in front of you today thank you, America.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you so much, Mr. President. (Applause.)
MS.
NULAND: We’ll take two questions today. We’ll start with CBS News, Margaret
Brennan, please.
QUESTION: Madam Secretary, it’s good to have you back at
the podium.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you, Margaret. I’m glad to be back.
QUESTION: A question for you. Is there anything you’d like to see the
Algerians do differently in response to the hostage situation that’s underway?
And more broadly, are there security or policy implications for Westerners,
Americans in the region because of what’s happening in Mali?
SECRETARY
CLINTON: Well, Margaret, thanks for asking that very timely question, and let me
start off by saying that I spoke with the Algerian Prime Minister Sellal
yesterday. I expect to speak with him again this afternoon. Our counterterrorism
experts have been in close contact with their Algerian counterparts throughout
the last days. And we’ve also been in close consultation with partners around
the world, sharing information, working to contribute to the resolution of this
hostage situation as quickly as possible.
Now let me say the situation is
very fluid. It’s in a remote area of Algeria near the Libyan border. The
security of our Americans who are held hostage is our highest priority, but of
course we care deeply about the other Algerian and foreign hostages as well. And
because of the fluidity and the fact that there is a lot of planning going on, I
cannot give you any further details at this time about the current situation on
the ground. But I can say that more broadly, what we are seeing in Mali, in
Algeria, reflects the broader strategic challenge, first and foremost for the
countries in North Africa and for the United States and the broader
international community.
Instability in Mali has created the opportunity
for a staging base and safe haven for terrorists. And we’ve had success, as you
know, in degrading al-Qaida and its affiliates, leadership, and actions in
Afghanistan and Pakistan. We’ve seen the great cooperation led by African troops
through the UN mission that we were just discussing in Somalia. But let’s make
no mistake: There is a continuing effort by the terrorists, whether they call
themselves one name or al-Qaida, to try to destroy the stability, the peace and
security, of the people of this region.
These are not new concerns. In
fact, this has been a top priority for our entire national security team for
years. We’ve worked with the Government of Yemen, for example, in their efforts
against al-Qaida in the Arabic Peninsula. We’ve worked in something called the
Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership, which works with 10 countries across
the region. So we have been working on these problems, trying to help build
capacity, trying to create regional networks to deal with problems in one
country that can spill over the border of another, and working to provide
American support for the disruption of these terrorist networks.
At the
UN General Assembly in September, we made the situation in Mali an international
priority with a central focus on working to have an international response. I
certainly am among a number of officials in our government who’ve met and worked
on this issue over the last weeks. In fact, in October, I flew to Algeria for
high-level talks with the President and others in responsible positions in this
security area trying to determine what more we could do to strengthen our
security ties. In November, I sent Deputy Secretary Burns and a team to Algeria
to really get into depth about what more we could be doing. And then in
December, we began to reach out more broadly in the ongoing counterterrorism
discussions that we have.
Now, I say all of this because I think it’s
important that we put this latest incident into the broader context. This
incident will be resolved, we hope, with a minimum loss of life. But when you
deal with these relentless terrorists, life is not in any way precious to them.
But when this incident is finally over, we know we face a continuing, ongoing
problem, and we’re going to do everything we can to work together to confront
and disrupt al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.
We’re going to be working
with our friends and partners in North Africa. We are supporting the French
operation in Mali with intelligence and airlift. We’re working with a half a
dozen African countries, as we did with respect to Somalia over so many years,
to help them be prepared to send in African troops. In fact, by this weekend,
U.S. trainers will be on the continent to offer pre-deployment training and
sustainment packages for ECOWAS troops. And we are prepared to fund airlift for
those troops into Mali.
This is difficult but essential work. These are
some of the most remote places on the planet, very hard to get to, difficult to
have much intelligence from. So there is going to be lot of work that has to go
into our efforts. But I want to assure the American people that we are committed
to this work, just as we were committed to Somalia. There were so many times,
Mr. President, over the last four years when some people were ready to throw up
their hands and say al-Shabaab made an advance here and this terrible attack in
Mogadishu. And we kept persisting, because we believed that with the kind of
approach we had taken we would be standing here today with a democratically
elected president of Somalia.
So let me just say that this is about our
security, but it is also about our interests and our values and the ongoing work
of how to counter violent extremism, to provide likeminded people who want to
raise their families, have a better future, educate their children, away from
extremism and to empower them to stand up against the extremists. And I think
it’s something that we will be working on for some time, but I am confident that
we will be successful over that time to give the people of these countries, as
we have worked to give the people of Somalia, a chance to chart their own
future, which is very much reflective of the values and interests of the United
States.
MS. NULAND: Last question today, Somalia Service of VOA,
Falastine Iman, please.
QUESTION: Thank you. And I have question, one for
the Somali President and one for Madam Secretary. For Somali President, how
would you describe the U.S.-Somali relationship at this moment?
My other
question is: Madam Secretary, sometime ago you announced a dual-track policy,
which means dealing Somali Government and regional administrations. Are you
still going to pursue these two approaches?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Could you
just repeat the end of that? I think I lost a little bit.
QUESTION: You
announced dual-track policy, which means dealing with the government and the
regional administrations. So are you still going to pursue these two approaches?
PRESIDENT HASSAN SHEIKH: Yeah. Thanks, Falastine. Regarding for Somalia, I
think this is a new era, and the United States Government and Somalia serving
our relationships in this – the independence of Somalia in 1960s, and the signs
and the symbols and the remains of this long-term relationship is still visible
in Somalia. The schools built by the Peace Corps in the early 1960s is still
functional in Somalia. These schools are still used by different people and
different parts of Somalia. And from then onward, the support that the United
States Government give to Somalia is still visible in Somalia.
And the
last one I was telling is the last 22 years that Somalia was in a difficult
times, the United States has always been the country that never left Somalia and
have been engaging Somalia with difficult times at different levels, including
when the existence of Somali nation was threatened in early ’90s. It was the
United States forces that saved more than 300,000 lives of Somalis. Had that
intervention not been there, it would have been difficult and different today,
the situation in Somalia. So that relationship is there and the commitment and
the unwavering support of the United States has always been.
And Somalia
is part of the international community and part of the world. Somalia – United
States is a role model country for the democracy, for the freedom of people, for
the development of human capital. And this model we are going to pursue, of
course, as the rest of the world. So the relationship was there in the past.
It’s now there. And today, I am here standing in front of you to further improve
that relationship in the context of the current realities in Somalia, in the
region, and the continent of Africa. So it’s there and it will be there in the
future.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much for those very strong
words, Mr. President. Today, we are taking a new step in our engagement with the
recognition of the government. We believe strongly that the successful
conclusion of Somalia’s political transition – with a new president, a prime
minister, a parliament, a constitution – marks the beginning of a new era of
Somali governance. And therefore one of the reasons we wanted the President to
come was to discuss the way forward.
Now, we still have the excellent
work by U.S. Special Representative for Somalia Ambassador Swan, who leads a
team, as you know, committed to working with the Government and people of
Somalia. But our position now is the work that we did to help establish a
transitional government, to support the fight against al-Shabaab, to provide
humanitarian assistance, is now moving into a new era, as the President said. I
believe that our job now is to listen to the Government and people of Somalia,
who are now in a position to tell us, as well as other partners around the
world, what their plans are, how they hope to achieve them.
So we have
moved into a normal sovereign nation-to-sovereign nation position, and we have
moved into an era where we’re going to be a good partner, a steadfast partner,
to Somalia as Somalia makes the decisions for its own future.
