Mogadishu – Officials from the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) on 4 March paid a visit to the Somali Police Force (SPF) Headquarters in Mogadishu to introduce the new UN Police Commissioner in Somalia, Mustafa Resat Tekinbas, to the SPF Commissioner, Brigadier General Abdihakim Dahir Saeed.

Commissioner Tekinbas was previously the Head of the International Police Cooperation Center at the Turkish National Police Headquarters, and brings with him more than 20 years of policing experience. He also spent close to a decade working with various UN peacekeeping field operations.

The SPF Commissioner welcomed the new UN Police Commissioner's deployment. “There has been an excellent working relationship between the UN and the SPF; it will continue this way. We will work with him to address the SPF's needs and capacity gaps,” General Saeed said as he briefed the delegation on the achievements and challenges of the SPF in the execution of its duties.

Commissioner Tekinbas said he would work with other stakeholders to support the development of the SPF.

Also speaking at the event, the director of UNSOM’s Rule of Law and Security Institutions Group, Waldemar Very, said the new UN Police Commissioner would boost the Mission’s efforts to support Somalia’s security institutions, and stressed the importance of cooperation and working in an integrated manner with the SPF.

As part of its mandate, UNSOM continues to support the Federal Government's efforts to strengthen rule of law institutions.