Abu Dhabi - Somali Ambassador to the UAE Abdul Qadir Shaikhi Mohammed Al Hatemi has praised the great role played by the UAE in providing humanitarian and development assistance to his country. "The UAE has a strong presence in Somalia, providing every possible help to the needy people there," Al Hatemi said in a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM). He added that since the collapse of the central government of Somalia in 1990, humanitarian organisations had been reluctant to go there, except for the Emirati aid donors, such as the Emirates Red Crescent Authority, Khalif Foundation and others. He also said that before 2010, terrorist groups wreaked havoc in most of the Somali areas, but the country has now come a long way in confronting and eliminating terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab. "We thank the UAE, under the wise leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, for supporting the Somali people and for rescuing them from the evils of terrorism," he said.
