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Date
: 14/10/2004
Source: The Presidency
Title: J Zuma: Swearing-in ceremony of President elect of
Somalia
STATEMENT BY DEPUTY PRESIDENT, J ZUMA, OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH
AFRICA AT THE SWEARING-IN CEREMONY OF THE PRESIDENT ELECT OF THE
TRANSITIONAL FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF SOMALIA, HIS EXCELLENCY,
ABUDULLAHI YUSUF AHMED, Nairobi, Kenya, 14 October 2004
Your Excellency, President Mwai Kibaki of the Republic of
Kenya,
Your Excellency, President Olusegun Obasanjo of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, and Chairperson of the African Union,
Your Excellency, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda
Your Excellency, President Paul Kagame of the Republic of
Rwanda
Your Excellency, President Ali Abdullah Saleh of the Republic of
Yemen
Your Excellency, President Ishmael Omar Guellah of the Republic of
Djibouti
Your Excellency, President Domitien Ndayizeye of Burundi
Your Excellency, President Abdullah Yusuf Ahmed of Somalia
Your Excellency, the Vice President of Sudan, Mr Ali Osman
Taha
Your Excellency, Prime Minister Fredrick Sumaye of Tanzania
Secretary General of the Arab League, Mr Amir Moussa
Former President of Somalia Mr Abdul Kassim Sallat
All Ministers and Representatives of Governments Representatives of
the international community
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
The Speaker of Parliament of Somalia
Esteemed guests
It is indeed an honour for me to address this historic event that
marks intensive two years of negotiations and deliberations, which
led to the swearing-in of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed as the
newly elected President of Somalia.
I bring warm wishes and congratulations of the President of the
Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Thabo Mbeki, as well as
the government and people of South Africa.
On this very special occasion, we would like to warmly congratulate
and commend the member countries of the Intergovernmental Authority
for Development (IGAD), and in particular the host country Kenya in
ensuring that the Somalia peace and reconciliation process finally
reaches fruition.
The role that Kenya has played in the peace process of Somalia, is
contributing greatly to the realization of the mission of the
African continent, to rid Africa of all forms of violence and
conflict.
Occasions such as today's swearing-in ceremony reminds us that
peace in Africa is an achievable goal, and that we can be able to
achieve our objective of breaking the vicious cycle of political
instability, poverty, and underdevelopment, as well as Africa's
weak capacity to defend and advance its interests in the global
arena.
The key building blocks of this strategy are increased political
unity and concerted action through the African Union (AU), and
accelerated socio-economic transformation through the New
Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).
We therefore today extend our sincere congratulations to President
Ahmed, the leaders, and all the people of Somalia, and offer them
all our goodwill and support for the huge task facing them. Thank
you Mr President and all parties for putting the interests of the
people of Somali first before individuals or political
parties.
A united and stable Somalia will have a positive impact on the
stability in Eastern Africa and the continent as a whole. It is
therefore our sincerest wish that this event herald a new era in
Somalia in which peace and stability will reign.
Another significance of today's occasion is that Africans, we are
once again demonstrating that we can produce African solutions to
African problems. We can only walk tall and be proud as a continent
if we continue with this trend, to put our own house in
order.
Your Excellencies, this African quest for peace will also be taken
a step further tomorrow, with the holding of the 23rd Great Lakes
Regional Summit on Burundi, which is critical at this stage of the
transitional process in Burundi. The support provided by the East
African community and the Great Lakes region as a whole to the
Burundi peace process is phenomenal, and is a demonstration of the
willingness by all Africans to work together to find solutions to
problems that beset our continent.
With regards to Somalia, we would also like to take this
opportunity to call upon all those parties that have not
participated in the reconciliation process to now come on board,
thereby ensuring a stable and untied Somalia that will benefit all
her people.
Our government will continue to provide support to the people of
Somalia in their quest for lasting peace and stability, and will
remain true to our mission of building a better and peaceful
Africa. Today is indeed a momentous day for Africa.
I thank you.
Issued by: The Presidency
14 October 2004
Source: SAPA
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