Mohamed Abdi Ware

Glad to pay a courtesy visit to my brother HE Osman Dubbad, Ambassador of Djibouti to Somalia at the Djibouti Embassy in Mogadishu.

Djibouti is the current chair of IGAD, and we took the opportunity to discuss peace and security in the Region, the AUSSOM mission, Conflict Early Warning (CEWARN) and other issues.

Ambassador Dubbad was the AMISOM force Commander in Beledweyne, and I’m personally grateful for the Djiboutian Mission in Sector 4, when I was in HirShabelle.

Under the chairing of HE Ambassador Idris Omar Guelleh, Director for International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFA) of the Republic of Djibouti, Glad to join Ms. Julian Hanning, Head of Division for the Horn of Africa, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ), Directors General and Commissioners responsible for
immigration and refugee affairs, and representatives of the Ministries of
Foreign Affairs of IGAD Member States and Representatives from the German Embassy in Djibouti, German Development Bank (KfW) and GIZ, for the 6th Steering Committee Meeting of the IGAD Regional Migration Fund (RMF) in Djibouti.

This year’s Steering Committee Meeting holds particular significance, taking place just two months after the successful completion, inauguration, and handover of key RMF-supported infrastructure in Ali-Sabieh and Ali-Addeh, Djibouti.

It is a stock taking of the status of the fund, knowledge exchange between Member States and speeding of other infrastructure projects in other Migeration corridors such as Moyale-Moyale (Ethiopia-Kenya), Togwajale-Togwajale ( Ethiopia-Somalia), and Elegu–Nimule (Uganda-South Sudan).

Glad to be part of the IGAD Delegation led by Executive Secretary @DrWorkneh to engage in the Annual Partnership Dialogue with the Government of Germany, convened today in Djibouti.

Led on the German side by Ms Julia Hannig, Head of the Horn of Africa Division at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), this dialogue reaffirmed over three decades of cooperation between IGAD and Germany in advancing peace, resilience, regional integration and sustainable development across the Horn of Africa.

I’m deeply saddened by the continued killing of brother by brother in Moyale, Ethiopia.

The Borana and Somali are of one blood, sharing kinship, culture, and faith. Whether Moyale should be in the Oromia Region or in the Somali Region is a trivial obsession of politicians.

You are both brothers in Ethiopia. This issue is not worth shedding blood over.

But I’m optimistic.

Both communities are resilient and share much to fall back on. They have Elders and traditional time-tested mechanisms to resolve conflict.

For that reason, I’m sure peace will prevail.

Elders will intervene and put their wisdom into the heads of the hotheads. The authorities (National and Regional) will help.

Tranquility, and harmony will return.

Children will go back to school. Youth will dance, once again, around campfires. You will share and enjoy peace and development together.

A sentiment captured by Poet Ugaas Zakariye (with my imperfect translation), in the midst of the deep gloom that often afflicts our communities:

With the rain water
Spread on the ground aplenty
I’m still thirsty

With the legs not walking
I’m exhausted from tiredness

A man duly anointed
Understands the signs of things yet to come

The misaligned stars will come together
The burnt soil will sprout trees
The gerenuk that fled in fear
Will come back home again
The giraffe will once again
Browse on the tall ‘gob’ tree

It is now the deep dark of the night
But the full moon will come out in light
Karma that has been slow to arrive
Will send a deliverance for you

Our barren camel will once again produce milk
The failed rainy season will, in one afternoon, suddenly arrive in torrents

The close brothers that killed one another
Will exchange brides in new bonds
All the wrongs that have been committed
Will receive lasting solutions
To address the painful grievances

⁃Ugaas Zakariye

Glad to lead the IGAD Delegation, standing in for the IGAD Executive Secretary @DrWorkneh, engaging in a dialogue with a High Ranking Delegation from the European Union, led by HE Ambassador Lene Mandel VENSILD, PSC Chair of the EU, and including HE General Enrico Barduani, Deputy Chair, European Commission, Ambassadors from Austria 🇦🇹, Belgium 🇧🇪, Croatia 🇭🇷, Cyprus 🇨🇾, Czechia 🇨🇿, Denmark 🇩🇰, Estonia 🇪🇪, Finland 🇫🇮, France 🇫🇷, Germany 🇩🇪 , Greece 🇬🇷, Hungary 🇭🇺, Ireland 🇮🇪, Italy 🇮🇹, Latvia 🇱🇻, Lithuania 🇱🇹, Malta 🇲🇹, Netherlands 🇳🇱, Poland 🇵🇱, Portugal 🇵🇹, Romania 🇷🇴, Slovenia 🇸🇮 Spain 🇪🇸, Sweden 🇸🇪, Ambassador of the European Union to Djibouti and Representative to IGAD 🇪🇺🇩🇯, and other High Ranking EU officials from the EU EEAS.

We had extensive discussions on the Peace and Security situation in the IGAD Region. The European Union is an important partner for @IGADsecretariat and its Member States. We will continue the dialogue to strengthen this partnership.
@UEaDjibouti @EUtoAU @eu_eeas @EUSR_Weber @DenisaIoneteEU