By: Yusuf M Hasan
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – The government of Somaliland shall no longer fund its Coastal guards or anti-piracy activities unaided.
This follows the signing of a maritime cooperation pact with the European Union that shall see Somaliland benefit through the reinforcement of maritime capacities,
Coast-guard training rule of law, and development of an Oceanography Academy.
The EU Somaliland maritime pact to be implemented by EUCAP NESTOR was accelerated in Hargeisa after signing by Somaliland foreign affairs Minister Muse Bihi Abdi and the Djibouti based EU East Africa representative Alexander Rondos
EUCAP Nestor is a civilian mission mandated to assist countries in the Horn of Africa and the Western Indian Ocean region to develop and enhance their own maritime security. The mission also aims to develop land-based coastal police forces and judicial capabilities in the region.
After signing the pact that shall also see a fully equipped and trained Somaliland coast guard take over full responsibilities for protection of the countries coast from Las Qoray to Sayla.
The EUCAP NESTOR program that was established by the EU in 2012 and headquartered in Djibouti has a fully function office in Hargeisa where the maritime program for somaliland shall be managed from by a joint EU-Somaliland team.
From now on, EUCAP Nestor will have police, legal and maritime experts deployed on a rotating basis to Somaliland in order to work together with their counterparts to design and run mentoring, advisory and training programmes in the area of maritime security and governance.
Watch Somaliland and EU sign anti piracy and Maritime dev pact
