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EU Director General for Development visits Somalia, boosts support

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Somalia
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EC
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During his visit, Manservisi held talks with President Farmaajo and met with federal and regional leaders and confirmed the EU's commitment to supporting Somalia

Stefano Manservisi, the EU's Director General for International Development Cooperation visited Somalia and signed a € 48 million new support package to strengthen governance, promote resilience and support vocational training.

“I am delighted to be in Somalia, a country that has been close to my heart for a long time. My thoughts go first and foremost to the many Somali people who suffer as a consequence of the humanitarian crisis and as a result of conflict. I am encouraged though, that in the face of these challenges, Somalia is making steady progress. We want to assure our partners that our commitment to the Somali people does not only go back several decades, but is for the long-term,” Director General Manservisi said.

During his visit, Manservisi held talks with President Farmaajo and met with federal and regional leaders and confirmed the EU's commitment to supporting Somalia in consolidating achievements in security, governance, productive sectors and technical cooperation.

The € 48 million new support package comes in addition to the new support announced on 9 May, on Europe Day, when the EU signed an € 49 agreement to expand support to the education sector. The EU has also announced that it will beef up its support to Somalia with an additional € 200 million in the coming years. The EU and EU Member States' response to this year's drought amounts to over € 356 million. For the first time since the civil war, Somalia is co-managing European funding.

With its Member States, the EU is Somalia's main development partner and provides more than half of all assistance to the country. In the period 2015-2020, the EU will have invested € 3.4 billion in development, humanitarian and peacekeeping operations in Somalia. EU support cuts across sectors throughout the country and has also made massive investments in resilience and support for livelihoods.