ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, October 19, 2015/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
The Commission of the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) today signed an Agreement under which the EU commits to provide financial support amounting 165 million Euros to the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ambassador Smail Chergui, signed on behalf of the AU. This funding is being provided under the Africa Peace Facility (APF) established by the EU at the request of the AU, and covers a period of seven months from 1 June to 31 December 2015. It will cover AMISOM’s budget for troop and police allowances, death and disability compensation for military and police personnel, international and local civilian staff salaries, operational costs of AMISOM, maintenance, running costs and equipment for the AMISOM Al-Jazeera training camp in Mogadishu and Quick Impact Projects (QIPs).
Speaking on the occasion, Commissioner Chergui expresses the profound gratitude of the AU to the EU for its continued support to AMISOM, adding that the success of AMISOM, to a large extent, depends on the availability of predictable and sustainable funding. “This financial support package will enable AMISOM to continue its commendable efforts to complete the liberation and stabilization of Somalia, in line with its AU and UN mandate’’, the Commissioner added.
Mr. Klaus Rudischhauser, Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General for Development and Cooperation, representing the EU, stated that the “overall objective of this financial support is to enable AMISOM contribute to the stabilization of the security situation in Somalia”.
It is worth recalling that the EU has been one of AMISOM’s main donors since the Mission was deployed in 2007, and that this agreement was the 14th of its kind to be signed between the AU and the EU.
