Saudi Arabia expresses concern over situation in Somalia

Riyadh, June 29, SPA -- Admiral Prince Fahd bin Abdullah bin
Mohammed, the Commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, said Monday
that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been following up with a great
concern the current developments of the situation in Somalia.

"The Kingdom is also worried about the state of instability in the
country of the Horn of Africa due to the deterioration of the
security conditions leading to aggravation of the piracy phenomenon,
" he said.

Speaking at a joint meeting of the Commanders of the naval forces of
the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) member states and the Arab
countries on the coast of the Red Sea, held here today, Admiral
Prince Fahd bin Abdullah said the Kingdom had earlier hosted a
conference for the reconciliation of the Somalian factions in Jeddah,
noting that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin
Abdulaziz had urged the Somalian factions to take into account the
higher interests of their country.

Admiral Prince Fahd bin Abdullah pointed out that the Kingdom had
welcomed Djibouti’s agreement which paved the way for the election of
Sheikh Shareef Ahmad as a new President of Somalia.

He noted that the Kingdom's humanitarian assistance to Somalia has
exceeded $150 million.

"It is well-known that sea-lanes constitute the major transportation
means for our exports and imports," he said, noting that 90 percent
of the exports and imports come through the sea.

"This means that any threat to navigation will have an adverse
impact on our economic security and our national security in
general," he said noting that piracy against the commercial ships and
oil tankers has remarkably increased recently in a manner that
threatens our exports and imports.

"The Kingdom views piracy as a crime which undermines the global
economy," he said, adding that several decisions were issued by the
international Security Council calling for using the required
measures for combating piracy.

Admiral Prince Fahd bin Abdullah called for confronting this
phenomenon and exerting more efforts to preserve the security of the
Arab region as well as for enhancing the authority of the Somalian
government.

"These events take place within the territorial waters of the Arab
countries, threatening the navigation lines," he pointed out.

Admiral Prince Fahd bin Abdullah said the meeting aims at promoting
cooperation to ensure the safety of navigation in the Arab region as
well as forging coordination with the friendly countries to combat
the piracy phenomenon which endangers the Arab interests.

--SPA