The UAE has reiterated its full support to develop the capacity of Somali national forces, especially its coast guard, following the end of the transitional period in August with the aim of countering piracy off the coast of Somalia.

Abdulkhaleq Bin-Dhaaer Al-Yafei, Minister Plenipotentiary, Permanent Mission of the UAE to the United Nations, announced this before the 12th Plenary Meeting of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday.

In his speech, Al-Yafei said 2012 has been a year of great opportunity for the international community’s collective response to piracy off the coast of Somalia. High-level international commitment to achieving a lasting solution to the piracy problem has been repeatedly demonstrated, as leaders from the government and industry have come together in meetings in London, Istanbul, Dubai, and this month in Perth, to seek ways to enhance the collective response.

At sea, the robust and admirable international counter-piracy naval operations and private maritime sector’s increasing development of self-protection measures has significantly reduced pirate attack and the success of attempted hijack.

On land, sustained international engagement and the continued efforts of Somali and AMISOM forces on the ground have led to progress in the security situation in Somalia, and facilitated political progress in the country that was hardly imagined in previous years. In this respect, the signature of the ‘Dubai Declaration’ between President Sharif of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and President Silanyo of Somaliland, on the sidelines of the UAE’s second high-level public-private counter-piracy conference last month, opening the door for potential reconciliation and a comprehensive agreement on Somalia’s political future, is testament to this new era.

This comprehensive progress has been translated into the figures: this month, the International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Centre reported a dramatic 54 per cent decrease in incidents of piracy off the coast of Somalia from 2011 to 2012, year on year.