Netherlands Minister for International Cooperation and European Affairs visited Garowe, the capital of Puntland – the self-declared semi-autonomous region of Somalia.

Here is a news release from the Netherlands government about the visit.

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Knapen discusses combating piracy in Puntland

‘As an international community, we must work on several fronts with the authorities in Puntland, Somaliland and Somalia to fight piracy sustainably. As well as combating piracy at sea, this also means investigation and prosecution on land, imprisonment in the region, and investment in stability and capable government.’

This was international cooperation minister Ben Knapen’s message following a visit to the autonomous Somali region of Puntland and a discussion with its president, Abdirahman Farole. In Puntland, Mr Knapen visited a prison, still under construction, which will accommodate 500 convicted pirates from 2013. The prison’s construction is being co-financed by the Netherlands. He also discussed how to keep young men out of piracy with UN Development Programme staff who guide the young towards work and alternative future prospects.

With President Farole, Mr Knapen discussed the need to step up the fight against piracy on land and increase the authorities’ capacity to do so. In this connection, he sees a role for the European Union. With its new training mission, EUCAP NESTOR, the EU will help Puntland and other jurisdictions combat piracy on land by means of police training.

Mr Knapen has long advocated improving the coordination of international efforts for stability in the Horn of Africa. He is pleased that the EU has now appointed an envoy to the region and plans to open an office in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.

‘By investing in employment and stability in relatively safe parts of Somalia like Puntland, we can show that there are alternatives to piracy and terrorism,’ says Mr Knapen, who visited Mogadishu and Somaliland last year. ‘If we do so, we can put an end to piracy, the misery of the Somali population, and the consequences of that misery, which also affect us in the Netherlands.’

Earlier this week, Mr Knapen visited the Burundian troops being trained by Dutch and American specialists for participation in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Today, he travels on to the South Sudanese capital of Juba. Mr Knapen’s visit to the Horn of Africa is dominated by the theme of security and the rule of law, one of the four spearheads of current Dutch development policy.