I’d like to welcome you to my first blog as the UK Senior Representative to Somalia and the first-ever one on behalf of the new British Office for Somalia.
My name is Matt Baugh. You will find a link to my biography elsewhere on this page, in case you would like to know a little more about me. I was appointed as the UK’s Senior Representative for Somalia last year and am head of the British Office for Somalia, based in Nairobi. Our still-expanding Office is made up of various UK Government departments, including the Department for International Development (DFID), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Ministry of Defence (MoD), as well as colleagues working in Addis Ababa on Somaliland and Somalia-related issues. In time, we hope to turn this office into a British Embassy in Somalia, when local conditions permit, as the Foreign Secretary announced last week.
Why the focus on Somalia? In short, Somalia matters. The stability, security and prosperity of Somalia is in all of our interests. Twenty years of conflict have left a terrible legacy. We have therefore made a renewed and strong commitment to supporting the development of a stable and secure country for the people of Somalia.
What do I want to do with this blog? Well, I hope that going online will enable me to meet and discuss relevant issues with a wide range of other people interested in Somalia, who share the common interest I highlight above. I know how important the internet is for communication about Somali issues, both in Somalia and between the diverse Somali diaspora communities around the world. So by going online I hope to be able to join and contribute to that debate. And I really want this to be a conversation – we may not always agree on issues, but that shouldn’t stop us talking. I also hope to be joined on this site from time to time by colleagues covering the range of issues this Office is working on. So please do leave comments below and I will try to respond.
If blogging’s not your thing, then we are about to start a new website called UKinSomalia, and a Facebook page, also to be called UKinSomalia. So there will be plenty of ways to keep in touch. More on these in due course. But watch this space!
Once again, I’m delighted to be starting this blog and genuinely look forward to exchanging of views on Somalia – be they on politics, security or development issues. Are you ready to start a dialogue?