Piracy of Freight and Passenger Shipping is Finally Bringing Changes at Government Level

UK – SOMALIA – WORLDWIDE – With everybody in the international community agreed that the secret to solving the economic and cultural wasteland that has become much of modern Somalia a conference is to be held in London tomorrow (Tuesday May 7) one of a sequence of events in 2013 that will support Somalia, including the G8 meetings (June 17 – 18 Enniskillen, Northern Ireland), the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (1 – 3 June) and an EU-hosted conference in September on the New Deal for fragile states. The movement for change has largely been driven by the high profile which the country gained during the peak days of piracy which has affected freight and passenger shipping from around the world.

The conference will be supported by a series of other events designed to assist in the reformation of the country including a trade show on May 8 to highlight Somali business opportunities and promote inward investment, including by Somali diaspora businesses. There will be a women’s event in the UK to discuss women’s empowerment, preventing sexual violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation plus a Chatham House hosted debate on how to attain and maintain true political stability.

The conference itself will see over 50 partner countries and organisations, including the UN, African Union, IMF and representatives from neighbouring countries gather with the intention of furthering political and social relations between the Federal Government of Somalia and Somaliland. There will be the endorsement of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) mandate prior to that organisations own diaspora meeting in London on the 9 – 10 May aimed at reuniting displaced citizens with their own homelands.

Of most interest to our readers will be the latest UK government statement on the maritime strategy to be adopted and maintained for the foreseeable future. Pirate attacks may be well down but the leaders of all the navies currently addressing the problems through the efforts of the three combined task forces are all united in their opinion that full naval presence needs to be maintained to avoid an upsurge in attacks.

Details of the London conference and related events can be seen HERE.

Photo: The use of Best Management Practice (BMP) has been a major factor in the number of successful attacks on shipping.