Dubai: The third annual conference to combat maritime piracy was opened in Dubai yesterday with the Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud among those attending.
UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in his speech at the opening of the conference: "The United Arab Emirates supports all the efforts and objectives of the federal government of Somalia.”
He said the conference comes at a crucial time for Somalia. The development of Somalia's ability to combat maritime piracy in its territorial waters will serve to strengthen its regional control and crack down on illegal fishing, human trafficking, smuggling of narcotics and other difficulties that have wracked the African country for so long.
The Somali president said: "The country is now ready to work with international partners in implementing key priorities such as security, justice reform, public finance management, good governance. We are also building our coastguard capabilities in order to protect our waters from pirates.” [12/09/13]
