BRUSSELS, Oct 26 (KUNA) -- The European Union expressed readiness to continue working closely with countries and regional organisations such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the African Union in support of their efforts to achieve peace, security and development in the Horn of Africa.
The EU adopted Monday its Horn of Africa Regional Action Plan 2015-2020 that outlines the 28-member bloc's comprehensive approach to addressing key issues throughout the region "This Regional Action Plan reasserts the importance which the EU attaches to continuing close co-operation with partners across the region in using all available instruments to support and encourage peace, stability, sustainable growth and prosperity throughout the Horn of Africa," said the EU Foreign Affairs Council for Development issues following its meeting here today.
The statement said that "the internal dynamics of the region are themselves affected by broader supra-regional dynamics such as the Gulf States' increasingly active engagement in the politics of the Horn of Africa." "While the Gulf States have always had interests in the Horn of Africa due to their geographic proximity, the politics and security of the Horn of Africa are today increasingly and visibly intertwined with those of the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt," it said.
"The recent crisis in Yemen has been emblematic of this change, and has affected the security of northern Somalia and the geopolitical position of both Sudan and Eritrea," said the Council statement.
The Action Plan will be implemented through the EU Trust Fund to be presented at the Valletta Summit on Migration on 11-12 November 2015, it added.
In a separate resolution on Afghanistan, the Council said it will continue to help address the root causes of migration, such as poverty, violations of human rights and instability, so as to reduce the incentives for irregular migration and to combat trafficking networks. The Council welcomed the decision to accept the invitation by the Government of Afghanistan to co-host the next comprehensive Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan in Brussels in 2016. The Ministerial Conference will set out the framework for the Government of Afghanistan and donors until 2020, contributing to a stable and reliable environment for Afghanistan to move progressively towards self-reliance, it added. (end) nk.nfm