Somalia -Welcome address to H.E Ahmet Davutoğlu [ahˈmet ˈdavutoːɫu]) the foreign Minister of Turkey to the Somali Parliament by the Speaker - Mohammad Sh. Osman “Jawari" on the 13th November, 2012

Welcome address to H.E Ahmet Davutoğlu [ahˈmet ˈdavutoːɫu]) the foreign Minister of Turkey to the Somali Parliament by the Speaker - Mohammad Sh. Osman “Jawari" on the 13^th November, 2012

It is my honour to introduce H.E Ahmet Davutoğlu the foreign Minister of Turkey to the Somali Federal Parliament on this fine location that overlooks Mogadishu seaside as a whole.

It is the first time, hope to be the beginning of many to come, that a Turkish Foreign Minister has visited this place, a fact that alone invests today with deep historical significance. It is a measure of the distance we have come and the dialogue which we have created over the past two decades that an event which in years gone by would have been thought inconceivable can occur and seem wholly natural.

The House of the peoples is on the road to recovery and its members are as resolute as the physical structure of the house that refused to go away and stood firm by holding its grounds throughout two decades of chaos and statelessness. This hall is the sole structure of its kind (Ex-VIP Garage converted into a functioning house of the people) in the world and the home of many bad and good memories.

Somalia was part of the Othman Turkish Empire in the 16th century. Old records show that the Othman Empire, settled not only along the shores of Somalia but also far deeper into the hinterland. That had left its marks, to mention a few, in places like Berbera, Bulahar and Zaila. Nomadic people in the hinterland still water their camels from Turkish made, back then, boreholes and a some of administrative buildings erected at the time are also functioning to this day.

The relationship between the two people is perennial and the leadership role (raising awareness of Somalia, relief and rehabilitation) the Government of Turkey took when Somalia was brought to its knees by the worst famine for sixty years stands as a living prove to that effect. I do understand that your government is at the forefront of the nations that are committed to help the resurrection of Somalia’s civil infrastructures and my due thanks on behalf of the members of the house goes to the people of Turkey.  I hope that you agree with me that the need for a new building with modern accessories to rise from the grounds of this now debilitated Parliament House prerequisites itself as a priority consideration as this House is the centre bolt of the nation’s recovery strategy. In light of the aforementioned pressing needs, I am taking advantage of this opportunity to formally request your government to explore possibilities of building a new House of the People for Somalia at the earliest possible time at your end.

It is my honour, Mr Foreign Minister, to welcome you again as our brother, friend and as a statesman. Statesmanship is the cement which seals our shared idealism as nations. It makes meaningful the unity of ambition, passion for freedom and abomination of injustice that is the core of our close alliance.

This is the case in old and solid democracies, as it is the case in new and more fragile democracies. Continuous, and continuously strengthened, democratic scrutiny is in my view the most important part of a parliamentarian’s role. It is our responsibility to speak on behalf of our citizens and ensure that international and local policies are conducted in an accurate and sensible manner. This is a task that must be undertaken on a daily basis. We have to be inclusive, transparent and accountable in our work. Parliamentarians speak with the voice of the people. And it is our responsibility to include citizens in our everyday work.

I don’t think my humble welcome speech will be complete unless I say few words about our guest of honour, the giant of a man. HE Ahmet Davutoğlu 

Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu is the Foreign Minister of Turkey. He is also a political scientist, an academic and an Ambassador at large and was formerly chief advisor to the Prime Minister. He has since called for Turkey to become more than just a regional power within Europe and the  Middle East and desires Ankara to have a far more influential role in world politics.

His Selected works

§  Alternative Paradigms: The Impact of Islamic and Western Weltanschauungs on Political Theory. University Press of America, 1993

§  Civilizational Transformation and the Muslim World. Quill, 1994

§  Stratejik derinlik: Türkiye'nin uluslararası konumu. Küre Yayınları, 2001

§  Osmanlı Medeniyeti: Siyaset İktisat Sanat. Klasik, 2005

§  Küresel Bunalım. Küre, 2002.