AlHijjah 24, 1432, Nov 20, 2011, SPA - The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expressed its growing concern about the phenomenon of maritime piracy, its negative impacts on the international maritime navigation, and its implications on maritime security, including the movement of goods between continents and international trade. Addressing the 10th meeting of International Contact Group for Combating Maritime Piracy Off Somalia's Coast at United Nations in New York yesterday with the participation of delegations from more than 100 countries and international organizations, the Head of Saudi Arabia's Delegation to the meeting and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al-Aqeel confirmed the Kingdom's vision in supporting the political process in Somalia to achieve security and stability which is the best way for the international community to eliminate this phenomenon and other phenomena being witnessed by Somalia. He said that the elimination of piracy is considered an international affair so that countries should combine their efforts to combat it and regional and international powers should cooperate among themselves to take joint and effective actions for its elimination in the light of the resolutions issued by the United Nations Security Council, which is the international reference to combat piracy, with respect to the principle of sovereignty of States over their territorial waters. The Minister Plenipotentiary added that in this framework, all international and regional initiatives to combat piracy must be made in response to the resolutions of the UN Security Council, including the establishment of United Nations Trust Fund to support the legal process to combat the phenomenon, which requires international support for its success. --More
