Mogadishu(SONNA)-The Minister of Environment and Climate Change of the Federal Government of Somalia, Khadija Mohamed Al-Makhzoumi, has embarked on a four-day official visit to Finland after receiving an invitation from her Finnish counterpart, Maria Ohisalo.
The topics to be discussed between Ministers Ohisalo and Almakhzoumi include closer cooperation between Finland and Somalia in climate policy. Somalia is hard hit by drought and the food crisis, and the whole of the Horn of Africa is extremely vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. As much as 80% of the Somali territory suffers from drought and the UN estimates that up to 90% of the country could become uninhabitable by 2030 due to climate change.
“I’m honored to be here in Finland on this four-day working visit, following an invitation from my Finnish counterpart, Minister Ohisalo. I look forward to productive discussions and hope that our talks will pave the way for greater collaboration in addressing the challenges of climate change”, Khadida said.
Khadija also expressed her gratitude to the Finnish government for their support in tackling the challenges posed by climate change. “Finland is supporting our efforts to tackle the challenges of climate change,” She said.
The Minister and the delegation from the Somali Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change will visit the Finnish Nature Centre Haltia, Finnish Environment Institute, Finnish Meteorological Institute and Parliament, and meet representatives of the Agenda 2030 Youth Group, Metsähallitus and Finnfund.
Somalia has been one of Finland’s partner countries for development cooperation since the 1980s. In 2021–2024, Finland’s bilateral cooperation in Somalia will focus on statebuilding and women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. The financial frame for 2021–2024 will be approximately EUR 54 million.
“Somalia is paying an unreasonably high price for the consequences of the climate crisis the country is not guilty of. Somalia and Finland share a long history and I consider it very important that we will support Somalia in building a climate resilient society and in strengthening their governance capacity. The new position of Minister of the Environment and Climate Change is an important step in this process,” Minister Ohisalo says.
Source: SONNA/ Finnish Government
