The Government supported United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1816 and 1838 calling on parties to address the growing problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia. We have been working with our EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) partners to implement these resolutions.
In September, the EU set up a team to co-ordinate naval escorts protecting World Food Programme deliveries to Mogadishu. The EU is now planning a larger counter-piracy operation to which the UK will provide the operation commander and operation headquarters. EU partners agree that any operation must be co-ordinated with NATO and Combined Task Force 150, themselves active to deter piracy off the Horn of Africa. The UK contributes to both.
Through the Department for International Development, the UK has allocated £25 million to support efforts to tackle instability in Somalia, which creates the conditions allowing piratical activity to flourish.