As delivered 

Mr. President, ministers, senior government officials, colleagues from the UN – what a great day today is!

It has been such a long road to get to this point. It was the vision of you, Excellency, to have us establish a ‘UN House’ here in Galmudug, the purpose of which it to bring the [UN] agencies closer to the people we serve. We know that once we are here, we will plan better, implement better, [and] serve the people of Galmudug better than we have in the past. We are so, so happy to be here.

Mr. President, you know we work with you and your team very closely in several areas – I’ve come today with the head of elections, the head of police, the head of media – in addition, we are also supporting you on the judiciary, the UN is supporting you when it comes to humanitarian assistance, [and] when it comes to development assistance. We hope that through this office we’ll be able to redouble efforts moving forward.

I’m not going to say too much – today is not a day for long speeches – but to thank you, to thank your team, to thank my team for making today happen as, ultimately, we want what you want: a peaceful, stable, prosperous Galmudug [and] Somalia, a nation where absolutely nobody is left behind, and, as you move forward, you move forward in partnership with the UN.