Embassy of Japan in Kenya
在ケニア日本国大使館

SPEECH BY H.E. MR. TOSHIHISA TAKATA, AMBASSADOR OF JAPAN ON THE OCCASION OF THE HANDING OVER CEREMONY OF MOTOR TRANSPORT VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT TO THE SOMALI POLICE FORCE ON MAY 7, 2012

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
All protocols observed;

Thank you for your warm hospitality. I am delighted to attend this ceremony today on the special occasion of handing-over of motor transport vehicles and equipment to the Somali Police Force (SPF) from the Government of Japan in the framework of our assistance for SPF through SSI Trust Fund. I also thank you for an excellent musical performance of the police band and I am proud that some of the musical instruments are also gifts of Japan given through our assistance for promoting the morale of the SPF.

Today’s ceremony, which we have been discussing for some time with UNPOS/UNSOA team, has finally come to realization and I’m really pleased with it. I wish to express my special thanks to UNPOS/UNSOA team for their hard work and efforts under the leadership of SRSG Mahiga despite all the difficulties that arose in Somalia.

This is actually the first time for me to visit Mogadishu and I am happy to be able to visit at this very crucial moment for ending the transition and establishing new Somali institutions. Certainly, there is a window of opportunity of peace and stability for Somalia after two decades of internal conflicts.

The equipment you saw here today are police pickup trucks, police personnel carrier trucks, police ambulances, one-thousand-eight hundred (1800) helmets, handcuffs and body amours (30 for demonstration purposes, with 1800 body amours pending delivery by June 2012),   1068 Motorola VHF handsets, 20 Motorola VHF mobile (base) sets and 8 masts to serve as radio communication equipment. Two police APCs are expected to arrive in Somalia during the course of this year.

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen;

The Government of Japan has been supporting the SPF for these past five years taking into account the fact that the security sector is of crucial importance for realizing the peace, stability and reconstruction of Somalia. In particular, with the efforts of AMISOM/TFG, more areas are currently being liberated from Al-Shabab and the role of the SPF is becoming even more significant in controlling these liberated areas. From this point of view, this handing-over ceremony is a very first significant visible step of our assistance to the SPF after the ongoing stipend payments for more than 5,000 SPF personnels.

I would like to emphasize that Japan is keen to continue with our support for the TFG and in particular the SPF. I wish to request   UNPOS/UNSOA team to implement in a timely manner the projects funded by our Government through SSI Trust Fund, as the improvement of the capacity of the SPF is needed now more than ever.

Finally, as our assistance for TFG comes from the Japanese taxpayer’s money, I urge the TFG, in particular the SPF, to effectively and adequately use and maintain these vehicles and equipment so that the peace and stability in Somalia will be realized in the near future.

Thank you very much for your attention.