Mogadishu – A conference for military engineers opened in Mogadishu today to seek ways of effectively delivering engineering support to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Engineers drawn from the AU Mission, United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) and the United Kingdom, will be brainstorming on ways to enhance their operations, in line with the new Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for AMISOM.

The two-day conference, officially opened by the AU Special Representative for Somalia Ambassador Francisco Caetano Madeira, will review current operations and develop a comprehensive plan for the next year.

“This workshop will give us a forum to share experiences and summarise them into action. We promise to come up with a comprehensive plan to enable AMISOM function as required,” Col Kazela Kazela, AMISOM Force Engineer stated.

In his remarks, the Special Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Caetano Madeira, urged proper alignment of engineering projects, that would ensure effective support to the Mission, in the war against Al-Shabaab.

“I am sure you all know the very important role engineering plays in any military operation. This role, including combat and civil engineering, involves planning, construction, installation, movement, safety and security among other important roles. That’s why it is important that you come up with a good plan to support this Mission in the next year,” SRCC Madeira noted.

He said the engineering capabilities will play an important support role in the upcoming electoral process and called on the Mission engineers to ensure that they play their part effectively.

“As you are all aware, Somalia will very soon go to elections and AMISOM together with the Federal Government of Somalia will play an important role in this process. Our role is to secure the country, to ensure that this election takes place in a secure environment. Engineering has been called to play a very important role, and this is already happening,” Ambassador Madeira said.

The Head of AMISOM acknowledged the logistical support from UNSOS and partners from the United Kingdom. The UK partners have been conducting critical training and mentorship programmes with Mission engineers for several years.