As delivered

Good afternoon. 

Thank you very much, Mr. President, to you and your team for an extremely warm welcome to Galmudug. I want to, on behalf of my team, thank you for the welcome and for the fruitful discussions we have had this afternoon.

Today, I am pleased to announce that the President and I signed an agreement for the land at Hero Drogo Camp site in Dhusamareb, on which the United Nations regional office will be located.

I thank President QoorQoor for his perseverance, his patience and his support to the United Nations in identifying this location. Once the office is completed, it will provide a platform for the United Nations family, and other international partners, to support Galmudug in developing its institutions and delivering services in an inclusive manner to its people, including in recently-recovered areas.

Pending the opening of the office, the United Nations will continue to ensure regular engagement and support to the people and the administration of Galmudug.

During our discussions, of course we took advantage, and with President QoorQoor, we had the opportunity to touch base on several other important issues, including the ongoing drought that has brought hardship to the people of Galmudug, the miliary offensive against Al-Shaabab and the need for continued focus on Somalia’s state-building agenda.

We discussed our close cooperation – that is, the cooperation between the UN and Galmudug – in the areas of elections, policing, stabilization, human rights and drought.

Mr. President, the United Nations believes in Somalia’s vision of a peaceful and a prosperous nation, in contribution we therefore look forward to establishing a physical presence in Galmudug and deepening our cooperation with and support to the people and the government of Galmudug.

Thank you.