Sunday July 17, 2022
Mogadishu (HOL) - The Acting Foreign Minister and State Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Balal Mohamed Osman, participated in the 41st Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union held from 14-15 July in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.
The foreign ministers of African Union member states discussed challenges facing the continent. They reported on the implementation of the transition plan, including the quota system, audit skills, the emergency recruitment plan, and the mid-term implementation report of the 2022 African Union theme on nutrition.
They also discussed the issue of lifting the arms embargo imposed on Somalia by the U.N. Security Council on January 23, 1992, and the full implementation of the Security Transitional plan (STP) in line with U.N. Security Council Resolution No. 2628
The Somali government wants to fully assume its security responsibility from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). It was also agreed to stand firmly by Somalia in its campaign to lift it from the UNSC embargo so that it could arm its armed forces to maintain its security and confront terrorism and all destabilizing activities.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the Somali Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs held separate meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Ethiopia, Demeke Mekonnen, South Africa, Ms. Naledi Pandor, Algeria, Ramtane Lamamra, Tunisia, Othman Jerandi, Tanzania, Amb. Liberata Mulamula, Gambia, Mamadou Tangara, and Ghanaian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political and Economic Affairs, Hon. Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, as well as other heads of delegations, discussed with them ways to enhance bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields of mutual benefit and joint coordination.
This year's theme of the session was "Building resilience in nutrition on the African continent: Accelerate the Human Capital, Social and Economic Development."