The Ministerial Council of the Sana’a Forum meets in Sana’a
An extraordinary meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Sana’a Forum for Cooperation (SFC) was held in Sana’a on 1st August, under the chairmanship of Dr. Abubakar Al-Qirbi, foreign minister of the Republic of Yemen. Present were the Foreign Ministers of the Forum members: Djibouti (Mr. Mahmmud Ali Yusuf), Ethiopia (Mr. Seyoum Mesfin), Somalia (Mr. Yusuf Hassan Ibrahim), and the State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sudan (Mr. Kamaladin Hassan Ali). The meeting was held in the context of strengthening ties and improving coordination to address the current challenges facing member states. The Ministers paid a courtesy call on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to brief him on the current status of the SFC. The President underlined the importance of the Forum and of the need for member states to reinforce and expand links among Forum member states.
The agenda of the meeting included strengthening the SFC secretariat, and reactivating economic, trade and investment co-operation among member states as well as speeding up the harmonization process of policies. The Ministers were briefed on the political situation as well as the status of peace and security in the SFC and discussed developments at regional level, including the situation in Somalia and in other member states, as well as the Forum’s role in ensuring security and stability and responding to extremism and terrorism in the region. In a communiqué, the Ministers affirmed their solidarity with Somalia and the TFG’s fight against terrorism, calling on all concerned parties to work within the framework of the Djibouti Agreement. They also called on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities towards Somalia and to support efforts to build up the Transitional Federal Institutions and the security forces and the army. They welcomed the recent resolutions of IGAD and of the AU and called for these to be implemented urgently.
The Ministers congratulated Sudan on the results of its recent elections and the efforts to implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. They called on all concerned parties to work together to resolve problems through dialogue. They reiterated their rejection of the resolutions of the International Criminal Court, calling these a violation of Sudan’s sovereignty and threat to peace. The Ministerial Council praised the Federal and Regional elections in Ethiopia as a demonstration of the will of the people of Ethiopia. It appreciated the efforts of Ethiopia to contribute to peace in Sudan and Somalia, and stressed the importance of resolving the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea through dialogue. The Council welcomed last month’s agreement between the Government of Ethiopia and the United Western Somalia Liberation Front.
The Ministers welcomed the commitment of Djibouti to solve its border dispute with Eritrea through peaceful means. They called on the Djibouti Government to continue to assist in bringing peace in Somalia within the framework of the Djibouti Agreement, and in accordance with the resolutions of IGAD, the AU, the UN and the Arab League. The Ministerial Council reaffirmed the adherence of Forum members to the unity, security and stability of Yemen. It condemned all acts of terrorism and sabotage carried out by extremists or radical elements under whatever name and for whatever excuse. It praised the repeated calls of President Saleh for peaceful dialogue as the only way to resolve the challenges facing Yemen. The Foreign Ministers expressed their hope that all parties would continue to demonstrate commitment to adhere to the Dialogue Agreement.
The Ministerial Council defined the commitment of the Foreign Ministers towards the revitalization of the Forum. It urged all relevant ministries and institutions in Forum member states to implement the resolutions of the 2008 summit covering economic, social, cultural, and security issues. It discussed the Charter for the Assembly of the Forum, and agreed to provide the Forum Secretariat with the necessary budget to enable it to function properly, and arrangements for the forthcoming Forum Summit at the end of the year or early in 2011.