Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that Somalia could develop into a hotbed for terrorism if the international community does not properly support rebuilding of the country.
Around 50 governments and the International Monetary Fund have gathered in London to discuss Somalia. The Prime Minister is co-hosting the meeting with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
Somalia has been ripped apart by war for two decades. Great effort and investment has gone into the east African nation in recent years but terrorist attacks continue, with a car bomb killing several civilians in the capital Mogadishu last week, and extremists still pose a huge threat.
Opening the conference, Cameron said the continuing threat of attack highlights the need for more to be done in an attempt to make Somalia safe for those looking to rebuild the country.
He warned a change in funding is required to prevent the troubled nation becoming a terror den with global implications.
The Prime Minister said: “Despite the gains made against al Shabaab, the recent tragic and despicable attacks in Mogadishu remind us how much work there is still to do in the fight against terrorism and extremism.
“These challenges are not just issues for Somalia. They matter to Britain – and to the whole international community.
“Why? Because when young minds are poisoned by radicalism and they go on to export terrorism and extremism, the security of the whole world is at stake.
“And to anyone who says, this isn’t a priority or we can’t afford to deal with it, I would say that is what we’ve said in the past and look where it has got us: terrorism and mass migration.
“We made that mistake not just in the Horn of Africa, but also in Afghanistan in the 1990s and we must not make it again.”
