PM: We can't ignore Somalia

In his opening remarks, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said "We have opened a space for peace and stability in Somalia. It is a small space but it presents an opportunity we cannot afford to miss." For her part, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the London conference that her country is committing an additional 64 million dollars (40. 7 million pounds) to humanitarian assistance to the Horn of Africa. The pledge brings total US emergency aid to the famine-stricken area to 934 million dollars (594 million pounds) since the start of 2011, with 211 million dollars (134 million pounds) of that money going towards life-saving programmes in Somalia, she said. Clinton voiced America's backing for programmes to tackle piracy off the coast of Somalia and urged all nations to be prepared to prosecute and jail pirates involved in attacks on ships flagged, owned or crewed by their country. She applauded United Nations programmes to build up Somalia's judicial and prison systems and said the US was considering offering help to projects to provide young men in areas dominated by pirates with alternative ways to earn a living. America supports the regional anti-piracy intelligence co-ordination centre set up in the Seychelles and the UK-led international task-force to discourage the payment of ransoms to pirates, she said. Clinton told the conference "As the security and political situation improves, the US will look for ways to increase our involvement in Somalia, including considering a more permanent diplomatic presence. "We will continue to deliver support of all kinds and to help build a broad and durable partnership with both the Somali government and people. "For decades, the world focused on what we could prevent from happening in Somalia, conflict, famine and terrorism. Now, we are focused on what we can build. "I think the opportunity is real and now we have to work with the TFG as it transitions out of power to build a durable peace for the Somali people and to support a government that delivers services and offers democracy and prosperity, uniting Somalia after so many years of division and chaos.