In the midst of the government crisis, the 66-year-old chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, received today (5/11) in Berlin the president of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohammed.
“His country is intertwined with terrorism and piracy at a time when the majority of its citizens live in extreme poverty,” comments the German newspaper Bild.
Sheikh Mohammed brought with him a promise that is proving to be “butter on the bread” of the Social Democrat chancellor, who has been heavily criticized over the immigration issue.
“I will take back every refugee from Somalia who does not have a residence permit here in Germany or who has not been integrated into the country,” Hassan Sheikh Mohammed pledged.
It is noted that more than 60,000 Somalis currently live in the Eurozone’s “steam engine” – the vast majority of them are migrants. In fact, there is an upward trend since this year alone, 5,800 Somalis have applied for asylum.
“We have left them behind”
“Our country has become safer, we are no longer a country where a civil war is raging,” Sheikh Mohammed said in an interview with Bild ahead of his visit to the Chancellor.
“Yes, we are still fighting against the terrorist militias al-Shabaab and ISIS (Islamic State) but we have pushed them back,” the Somali president said.
“We are no longer the land of the movie Black Hawk Down,” Sheikh Mohamud commented.
The 2001-produced film Black Hawk Down is about the battle of Mogadishu that took place 31 years ago. Directed by Ridley Scott, it was based on the events of the 1993 battle and the major “blow” it inflicted on the US military.
The film amply illustrated the delicate balance between a successful military operation and abject failure, at the cost of dozens of lives.
“This film, the terrorist attacks and the images of our fishermen turned pirates have shaped our country’s image abroad. But we have put that behind us. We want to attract investors, especially from Germany. We are confident that we are securing investment. We have mineral resources, we have large agricultural areas and we have the best fishing grounds, especially for tuna. We need confidence and investment – not just development money,” the Somali president said.
Sheikh Mohamud voted for Ukraine at the UN, made China withdraw its illegal fishing fleets and about Russia he said, “We are trying to have relations with all countries, Russia has written off hundreds of millions of dollars from our national debt, but Mohamud has rejected extensive military aid, in short the African Union mercenaries have already withdrawn. Now we have taken over the reins. We are masters of ourselves again,” he points out.
Sheikh’s goal is to make his country accessible to its citizens again, even for those living in Germany.
“Each of them has a homeland: Somalia. They can all return to where they were born, there is no problem,” he stresses.
