• Somalia gets a new Prime Minister
• UN Security Council supports UN contingency planning for Somalia
• Food distribution flowing freely in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State
• Prime Minister Meles meets UK Development minister, Baroness Vadera.
• Eritrea’s “very negative role” in the Horn of Africa

• President Abdullahi Yusuf on Thursday announced the appointment of a new Prime Minister designate for Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government, Colonel Nur Hassan Hussein ‘Adde’. He now has to be confirmed by Parliament which is likely to take place shortly. Colonel Nur ‘Adde’ is not a member of parliament and his appointment follows a recommendation by the National Reconciliation Congress in August, opening up ministerial appointments to non-parliamentarians; Parliament endorsed this suggestion earlier this month. Colonel Nur ‘Adde’, a lawyer, has been Secretary-General of the Somali Red Crescent Society for the last sixteen years, after a long career in the Police Force where he was head of planning and training for nearly a decade. He has had extensive experience in public administration as well as with various aspects of the security and judicial systems under the former government of Somalia. He has the reputation of being a capable administrator. He has stood aside from any of the political factions that have flourished during the civil wars and is widely respected. He has the credentials to deal with the current humanitarian crisis and to be able to reach out to some of those opposed to the TFG in Mogadishu. One of his first pre-occupations will be the need to build up government institutions to provide security, and help persuade the international community to increase the flow of aid to displaced people outside Mogadishu. Colonel Nur ‘Adde’, who was born in Mogadishu in 1938, is from the Wa’buudhaan/Abgal Hawiye, one of the largest Mogadishu clans.

It is expected that the appointment, and endorsement of a new Prime Minister will also help facilitate the deployment of the 1,800 strong Burundi contingent of AMISOM due to arrive in Mogadishu shortly, and that of a Nigerian contingent, which is expected by the end of December. President Kagame of Rwanda, opening the 14th session of the joint Parliamentary Assembly of African Caribbean and Pacific countries and the European Union, in Kigali earlier this week, called on the international community to intervene more actively in Somalia. President Kagame said: “It is simply unacceptable that we all watch while people die, in a situation made worse by the fact that Somalia has not had a functioning state for more than a decade.” He noted that Rwanda was training Somali security forces. Last week, the European Parliament also urged the international community to provide financial and logistical support for AMISOM, and encouraged African Union states to contribute troops.

• On Monday, the UN Security Council considered last week’s report of the Secretary-General on Somalia which suggested that deploying a UN peace-keeping force in Somalia was not realistic because of the current security situation. He said it had not even been possible to send a technical assessment mission. The Secretary-General said it might be advisable to look at additional security options including “the deployment of a robust multinational force or a coalition of the willing.” Speaking after a closed session briefing, the current President of the Security Council, Marty Natalegawa of Indonesia, said the Council had “underlined the need to continue to actively develop contingency plans for the possible deployment of a UN peacekeeping force as part of an enhanced UN strategy in Somalia.” The President said the Council called on all Somali stakeholders “to renounce violence and to engage in an all-inclusive peace process”. It expressed support for the efforts of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to promote dialogue, consultation and reconciliation, as well as for the Transitional Federal Institutions. The Council also “recognized the need for greater financial, logistical and technical support for AMISOM”. It underlined the need for enhanced international assistance to address the humanitarian situation. The President said subsequently that contingency planning involved a possible UN response to the humanitarian and political situation as well as a UN peacekeeping force. He said that Council members were considering an expert-level consultation with UN political, peacekeeping and humanitarian officials. The Secretary-General said after the meeting that the Somali situation should be addressed by promoting a dialogue in support of national reconciliation, and helping AMISOM with money and equipment to operate more effectively.

• According to the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency (DPPA) another six NGOs have been approved this week to operate in the Somali Regional State, following deployment by twelve others earlier in the month. In a statement on Monday, DPPA chairman, Simon Mechale, said the agency had already distributed over 7,000 metric tonnes of food aid to five zones of the Somali Region, over 40% of immediate needs. Another 10,000 tonnes is in the pipeline. Distribution of food aid is now going smoothly and its speed had greatly increased following successful security operations. Whereas food supplies had sometimes taken two to three months, it was now possible to move significantly greater quantities within two to three weeks. Mr. Mechale said the DPPA had contracted 175 heavy duty trucks to distribute the aid with another 82 coming from the strategic relief fleet and from the Ministry of Defense. The number of food distribution points is now 186. A total of 640,000 people would be getting assistance. Meanwhile, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, is planning to visit the Somali Regional State next week to assess, at first hand, the progress made in meeting humanitarian needs and further challenges. He will be visiting Jigjiga and Kebridahar, as well as holding talks with senior officials in Addis Ababa.

Meanwhile, according to the Commander of the 12th Division, Colonel Gebregziabher Beyene, operations in the Warder zone of the Somali Regional State have led to the deaths of nearly a hundred ONLF terrorists, with many others wounded and captured, together with numerous small-arms, rocket-propelled grenades, satellite phones and home-made explosive devices. According to Colonel Gebregziabher seven senior figures in the ONLF were killed in the recent fighting at Laandheer. Hundreds more surrendered in the latest operations which had been going on for several weeks. Two of those captured in these operations turned out to be Eritrean soldiers. Colonel Gebregziabher said the current operations started in mid-October and the army, assisted by local militia and security forces, had annihilated ONLF forces in the Warder area. This has meant a significant expansion of the areas that can now be reached with the food aid provided by the DPPA. It has also relieved security problems in the zone. Most of the region is now open for increased NGO activity.

• This week, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi met with Baroness Shriti Vadera, the UK’s Parliamentary Undersecretary of State in the Department for International Development (DfID). He expressed Ethiopia’s appreciation of the quantity and quality of UK aid and assistance and briefed the visiting minister on Ethiopia's recent, very considerable, progress in development. Baroness Vadera, whose visit was intended to provide her with a first hand assessment of Ethiopia's development, said the United Kingdom was committed to enhancing its partnership with Ethiopia, to assist in the achievement of the country’s Millennium Development Goals. To this end, the UK has already allocated seventy five million pounds sterling for water, hygiene and sanitation projects. Baroness Vadera said she was impressed by Ethiopia’s recent growth record, the progress made towards achieving the MDGs and the government’s commitment to reduce poverty. She noted that DfID is now putting more emphasis on sustainable growth as the best way to address poverty in the long term. During her talks with the Premier, she said DfID has plans to launch a major research project, the "Diagnostic Analysis of Growth Barriers". Implementation of this will be carried out jointly with the World Bank and the African Development Bank. Prime Minister Meles welcomed this innovative project.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the major constraint for development in Ethiopia, as with the rest of Africa, was foreign exchange. Ethiopia, said the Prime Minister, despite an annual rise of twenty-five percent in export volume and earnings, was still unable to meet the demand for foreign exchange needed to fund investment; and the sharp increases in the oil price, quadrupled in recent months, had put a lot of pressure on the nation's foreign exchange reserves. He cited inflation and limitation of capacity as pressing difficulties to which government was alert. Prime Minister Meles said institutional and policy issues also needed to be addressed, but, in Ethiopia as elsewhere, it was critically important that they should be owned by the countries themselves; otherwise the development process would not be able to succeed. He mentioned infrastructure as a major bottleneck in Africa that needed to be addressed. The Prime Minister said that the right policies alone would not help unless there was sufficient funding; he noted that others were doing rather more than Europe in supporting increased infrastructural capacity. Europe, he said, had the resources and the technology; it needed to find new ways to become more vigorously involved in development of infrastructure in Africa.

Baroness Vadera made it clear she appreciated the idea of financing infrastructural development but emphasized the need for associated cost-effectiveness and transparency in the terms of business for any such projects. Referring to development endeavors, the Prime Minister detailed the on-going rural transformation where progress in productivity and increases in market orientation are prompting people to take greater care of, and interest in, their land. Agriculture remains the mainstay of the economy, but manufacturing overtook it last year for the first time, and it is this that will sustain development. The private sector has, and will continue to have, an important role. Prime Minister Meles said Ethiopia was trying to lift everybody out of poverty, and from below. This was in sharp contrast to an approach based on trickle-down economic measures. The rural credit scheme, which is making a real difference, is now expanding widely. Similar schemes are being implemented in urban areas. The Prime Minister pointed out that Ethiopia envisaged installing 2.5-3 million fixed telephone lines on top of 10 million mobile outlets in the near future. At a future stage, he said, when foreign exchange was no longer a major constraint, the government would consider any and all options. He stressed that the government had no ideological positions on the issue of privatization.

On Somalia, Baroness Vadera told the Prime Minister that the UK would be providing $ 8.5 million to help with the deployment of the Burundi peacekeeping contingent to Somalia. The Prime Minister briefed Baroness Vadera on the situation in Somalia and informed her about the steps being taken to address the humanitarian situation in the Somali Regional State where, he said, the situation on the ground had been considerably exaggerated. Referring to allegations over human rights, the Prime Minister pointed out: "We know from first hand experience that the surest way to lose a counter insurgency campaign is to alienate the people." He emphasized that the government was working very closely with the local population.

Baroness Shriti Vadera also met and held talks with Foreign Minister Seyoum. She emphasized the need to promote Ethiopia as an investment and tourist destination. She noted that re-branding Ethiopia, a country with an ancient history, a beautiful landscape, an assortment of flora and fauna, hot springs and recreational sites and other attractions, would help entice potential visitors. Tourism was an excellent method of providing the country with badly needed revenue. Foreign Minister Seyoum for his part commended the UK for its support for Ethiopia’s development. He assured the Baroness that Ethiopia would continue to pursue its efforts to deepen democracy and enhance its development. During her visit, Baroness Vadera met and held discussions with the Ministers of Health, and Finance and Development. She visited a number of innovative DfID-supported programs and paid a brief visit to the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region, meeting the Regional President and other senior regional officials. Baroness Vadera also met the Chairperson of the Commission of the AU, Professor Alfa Omar Konare. Their discussions covered the AU's perspective on the critical issues of regional peace and security. Baroness Vadera reiterated the UK's commitment to the post-Gleneagles’ partnership between the G8 and Africa.

• US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, in an interview with Voice of America on Wednesday, noted “the very negative role” Eritrea has been playing the Horn of Africa. Assistant Secretary Frazer said that the deployment of forces along the Ethiopian-Eritrean border had created concern about possible “miscalculations”, but, she said, it was not in the interests of either Ethiopia or Eritrea to go back to war. The US, she said, strongly backed UN’s efforts to resolve the situation. She pointed out that the border needed to be demarcated and that demarcation required dialogue: so “both diplomacy and dialogue are necessary.” Assistant Secretary Frazer said that Eritrea, in addition to its role in Somalia, was also providing assistance to rebels in Darfur. She thought it was trying to increase its influence in the Horn of Africa by funding and supporting insurgents, and, in the case of Somalia, terrorists as well. Assistant Secretary Frazer said the possibility of listing Eritrea as a state sponsor of terrorism was still an active issue under deliberation in the US. She said the US took this issue very seriously and it was still gathering the evidence necessary to make such a determination.

• The International Organization for Migration Special Liaison Mission in Addis Ababa organized a four-day training seminar on International Migration Law for senior government officials this week. Speaking at the conclusion of the meeting, a Foreign Ministry Official said immigration has become a complex global phenomenon that states could no longer ignore. Nor could they consider it as an unimportant priority in their socio-economic, political and political agenda. It was with a view to addressing such issues that the UN had organized a high level dialogue on migration and development to identify appropriate ways and means to capitalize on the advantages of immigration, and minimize any negative impact on development. One approach to this was covered by the training this week. It concentrated on the international, national, regional and local legal instruments which dealt with migration management, and aimed to raise the awareness of participants about the relevant legal instruments covering these issues. The program also addressed migration issues linked to human rights, security, human trafficking and smuggling.