A stable Somalia key for regional peace

Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo. (Photo: AP)

The third London Conference on Somalia gets underway today in the UK capital, with the main focus being making Somalia a much better place, in terms of security, than it has been for decades following the ouster of President Siad Barre in 1991.

Co-hosted by the United Nations, British Premier Theresa May and Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, the conference attempts to draw world attention on Somalia where support is needed to put the war-torn African country on the path to full recovery by year 2020.

Mr Farmajo was elected President of Somalia in February, replacing Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and on him rode the hope for a happy ending- a peaceful Somalia. Bringing Somalia back from the brink is not an easy task . Somalia is designated a failed state with the terror group al Shabaab still holding sway in swathes of the country.

Mercifully, the world has not walked away from Somalia; the United Nations, the AU, IGADD and other regional bodies have tried, severally to shore it up. The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) an active, regional peacekeeping mission operated by the African Union - and which Kenya has a representation- has managed to stabilise parts of Somalia.

With support, Mr Farmajo can rebuild Somalia.

But while the international community does all there is to ensure peace and law and order returns to Somalia, ultimately, it is up to the people of Somalia to rebuild their country.