SOMALIA / WILLIAM HAGUE

British Foreign Secretary William Hague visited the Somali capital Mogadishu today to witness the opening of a new British embassy in Somalia. UN-AU/IST

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Production Date: 25 April 2013
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: AFRICAN UNION MISSION IN SOMALIA – AMISOM
• Subject Topical: PEACE AND SECURITY
• Geographic Subject: SOMALIA
• MAMS Id: U130425b

Description

STORY: SOMALIA / WILLIAM HAGUE
TRT: 1.01
SOURCE: AU / UN IST
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 25 APRIL 2013 MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, plane taxiing on runway
2. Wide shot, British Foreign Secretary William Hague and delegation disembarking from aircraft and greeting Somali officials
3. Wide shot, Hague and AMISOM Force Commander Lt. General Andrew Gutti walking and chatting
4. Med shot, Hague and Gutti chatting
5. Wide shot, British Embassy exterior
6. Med shot, Hague and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in front of British Embassy sign
7. SOUNDBITE (English) William Hague, British Foreign Secretary:
“We are the first western country to reopen our embassy here 22 years after our previous embassy was evacuated, and the flag taken down and this symbolises for us our confidence that Somalia will overcome its problems with international support, it also of course enables us to increase our practical cooperation.”
8. Wide shot, British flag being raised at embassy as Hague, Mohamud and officials watch
9. Med shot, Hague, Mohamud and officials clapping

Storyline

British Foreign Secretary William Hague visited the Somali capital Mogadishu today (April 25) to witness the opening of a new British embassy in Somalia.

Last year, the UK government appointed Somalia’s first Ambassador to the UK in many years; an event officials say is a strong sign of the improving situation in the Horn of Africa country.

Since Hague’s last visit in early 2012, Somalia’s National Security Forces, bolstered by troops serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), have pushed the al Qaeda affiliated al Shabaab militants from much of south-central Somalia.

SOUNDBITE (English) William Hague, British Foreign Secretary:
“We are the first western country to reopen our embassy here 22 years after our previous embassy was evacuated, and the flag taken down and this symbolises for us our confidence that Somalia will overcome its problems with international support, it also of course enables us to increase our practical cooperation.”

Following discussions with AMISOM Force Commander Lt. General Andrew Gutti, Hague and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud presided over a flag-raising ceremony to open the UK’s first embassy in Somalia since 1991.

Mohamud and Hague will be co-hosting a Somalia Conference in London on 7 May, which aims to attract and streamline international support for Somalia’s recovery efforts.