Neil Wigan congratulates the conference of the Interim South West Administration on the election of their leadership

Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Somalia, Neil Wigan, congratulates the conference of the Interim South West Administration (ISWA) on the election of their leadership. Her Majesty’s Government praises all stakeholders in the regions Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle for achieving this milestone and welcomes the constructive role the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) played in facilitating the process.

The United Kingdom welcomes the significant milestone ISWA has achieved in electing their new President; we extend our congratulations to Sharif Hasan Sheikh Adan and look forward to working with him. We now urge the new leadership to demonstrate full inclusivity, of all communities, in the remaining steps of the process and in the creation of the regional assembly. We also encourage all stakeholders from within the regions Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle to continue to come together in reconciliation to ensure that ISWA becomes a signal of stability for Somalia. The creation of ISWA is an important step towards achieving Vision 2016 and we welcome the constructive role the FGS played in achieving this. The United Kingdom remains committed to Somalia and we will support the emerging administrations in delivering essential services for its citizens.