Kismayo - Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, Fatiha Serour, paid a visit to Kismayo on 5 February, where she met with the Leader of the Interim Jubba Administration (IJA), Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islan Madobe, and members of his cabinet.

"I congratulate you on the milestone of setting up your government," Ms Serour said, adding that there was a need to incorporate more women in the IJA.

She thanked the IJA for providing land for an upcoming centre for disengaged combatants in Kismayo, and expressed a desire to move forward with the Jubba reconciliation process.

Sheikh Madobe said his government was ready to work with the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), the United Nations, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the wider international community to jump start development projects and continue the reconciliation process in his Gedo, Middle Shabelle and Lower Shabelle.

Also part of the meeting was Ali Abtidon Halane, Director General in the FGS’s Ministry of Interior, and members of the IJA cabinet, including General Mohamed Warsame Farah ‘Darwish’, Minister of Interior and Security, Hassan Dahir Yarow, Minister of Health, and Mohamed Nur Iftin ‘Shamabara’, Minister of Planning and International Relations, among others.

During her visit, Ms Serour also met with civil society activists, who voiced their concerns on the shortage of support for humanitarian activities such as healthcare, water & sanitation and education in the region.