The Government monitor the situation in Somalia very closely and raises issues with international interlocutors on a regular basis. Most recently my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and my noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch-Brown, discussed Somalia with the Ethiopian Foreign Minister during their meeting on 13 November 2007.
The Government are very concerned by the current situation in Somalia. We are working hard with our international partners, through the EU, the UN and the International Contact Group, to help Somalia address its very difficult circumstances. The three strands of our policy cover political, security and humanitarian issues. By pursuing each of these areas in parallel, we hope to help Somalia leave violent conflict behind and develop, in time, to its full potential.