BAIDOA– Somalia’s South West State President Abdiaziz Hassan Laftagareen has on Tuesday received a high level UN delegation led by the UN Special Representative Catriona Laing at the Presidential Palace in the capital Baidoa.
The meeting focused on State- building, Political dialogue, climate change and the impacts of the debilitating drought.
The two officials extensively deliberated on the need for political dialogue with view to attain stability and progress in the region.
In a bid to address the pressing issue of climate change, the two leaders underscored the importance of bolstering mitigation measures and strengthen the resilience of the vulnerable families severely affected by the vagaries of climate change patterns.
President Laftagareen expressed his gratitude to the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations for their continued indefatigable support to the people of South West and stressed the significance of heightening support to his administration in an attempt to address the multifarious challenges bedeviling the people in the region.
On her part, the UN Special Envoy Laing commended the resilience and tenacity exhibited by the people of South West State in the wake of the multifaceted challenges and pledged the UN commitment to closely working with State government and other like minded humanitarian agencies to implement and beef up emergency response and development projects in the region.
After visits to #Hirshabelle and #Puntland, new @UN Special Rep. @CatrionaLaing1's inaugural round of visits to #Somalia's Federal Member States continued today with a stop in #Baidoa where she met #SouthWestState's President @Laftagareen.
Read more here: https://t.co/1ERv4dGV20 pic.twitter.com/PCY5dyOGuj— UNSOM (@UNSomalia) June 13, 2023
President Laftagareen was joined in the meeting by a host of regional Ministers, Director of the region’s Presidency and other senior government officials.
South West State is one of the region’s adversely affected the unprecedented severe drought conditions following the four consecutive successive failed rainy seasons.
The severity of the drought has claimed human lives and decimated crops and livestock and precipitated displacements of thousands of people who are living in IDP camps across the region and beyond.
