I recently visited intriguing Somaliland to sign new EU aid programmes for the region and further boost our cooperation. Therefore with pleasure I read the article on the Guardian’s website analysing the relative success of this autonomous region of Somalia. As the author argues and some readers put in the comments to the article, Somaliland is indeed a positive story of development, with growing economy and great deal of stability.
However, the argument about Somaliland not receiving foreign aid is not entirely correct. The European Union has been supporting Somaliland for years and I recently decided to give 175 million Euro of additional funding for entire Somalia; but around 70% of this money is foreseen to be spent in Somaliland and other areas of stability.
Actually, the status of Somaliland under international law does not prevent the EU from engaging constructively with Somaliland in order to achieve common goals including stability and economic development.
To be more precise, on-going, EU-funded programmes in Somaliland currently amount to approximately €62 million. There are 63 projects ongoing: 27 projects in the governance (€21.9 million); 13 projects in the education sector (€11.2 million); 13 projects in support to economic growth (€15.1 million); and 9 projects (€8.5 million) in other sectors (health, water and sanitation).
During my mission I visited the Sheikh Veterinary School and livestock quarantine station in Berbera which is a strong asset to Somaliland economy since 63% of people rely on livestock for their income and the sector generates around 40% of Somaliland’s GDP.
We are also proud to see that our actions in Somaliland bring concrete results, just to mention that with strong EU assistance, school enrolment has already grown from 38.6% in 2006 to an estimated 60% in 2010. Somaliland’s Education Ministry will be supported by technical experts provided by the EU to develop a sustainable solution for the recently-announced Free Primary Education Policy.
I also invite you to read another article on this fascinating country in Slate Afrique. Click on this link:
By Andris Piebalgs (EU Commissioner for development)
No comments:
Post a Comment