UN Security Council welcomes approval of Somali cabinet

The UN Security Council on Tuesday welcomed the approval of the cabinet list by the Somali Federal Parliament and meanwhile stressed the need for the federal government to accelerate delivery of its vision for 2016.

In a press statement released here, the Security Council underlined the importance of the new political leadership in Somalia quickly delivering in priority areas, including the passage of key legislation to establish the National Independent Electoral Commission, progress toward the establishment and strengthening of interim regional administrations, the stabilization of areas recovered from the militant group al-Shabaab, and resuming the implementation and review of the provisional constitution, "without further delay."

Somali parliament on Monday approved a new list of 66-memnber cabinet submitted by the country's prime minister, paving way for the formation of a fully functional government.

The new cabinet was immediately sworn in, and will be expected to address a number of issues including the formation of the National Electoral and Federal Commission to prepare the country for referendum on the provisional constitution and subsequent universal elections in 2016.

Somalia had been without a functional government with the process of forming a new government riddled with power struggles since the ousting of the former Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed in a no confidence vote by parliament in December 2014. Endi