Somalia President Receives UK’s Minister of state for Armed Forces

The President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh has received Minister of State for the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom James Stephen in Mogadishu. The duo discussed issues related to the fight against the Al-Shabaab and the strengthening of the forces of the Federal Government of Somalia, which is expected to take over the general security of the country by the end of this year.

According to the Somalia Presidency, The President expressed his gratitude to the British Government for the role it plays in the training of the Somalian forces, while Somalia is preparing to take over the security responsibility of the country, after the departure of the remaining ATMIS forces.

Minister James Stephen, for his part, praised the significant progress made by the people and the government of Somalia, noting that his government is committed to strengthening cooperation in defense and fighting Al-Shabaab between the governments of Somalia and the UK.

The British government is one of the European countries that supports the Somalia government in terms of development and the fight against the Al-Shabaab group and this meeting comes at a time Somalia is seeking international support to expedite its fight against Alshabab.