President Farmaajo departs for Britain ahead of May 11 London Conference

President Mohamed Farmaajo Wednesday left for Britain ahead of the May 11 London Conference on Somalia.

President Farmaajo who will be co-chairing the conference with the British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson will front a post New Deal agenda for Somalia aimed at securing international donor funding for state building and economic recovery.

The government has identified four thematic areas which form the basis of the conference. They are security, political processes, economy and new partnerships.

In an Op-ed Wednesday, Johnson said the British government will be fronting security reform and development of the Somali national security architecture.

“I want to strike a bargain whereby Somalia’s leaders carry out vital security reforms – including drawing up a clear plan for a National Army – in return for more help and training from the international community. And when conditions allow, Somali troops will take over from their AMISOM allies,” said Johnson.

Parliament approved the national security architecture last month which the government is expected to table at the conference for international donor support to actualise it. In the architecture, the government projects Somalia will for the start have a 22,000 strong army including 4,000 drawn from the special force, Danab.

East African leaders including Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta will be attending the conference where they will be expected to shore up support for Somalia’s course under the IGAD umbrella.