Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Andrew Murrison and Andrew Gwynne(11 years, 12 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Dr Murrison
My hon. Friend is right that the piracy will not be resolved entirely at sea, and EUCAP NESTOR is showing early promise of delivering effect. The subject will be returned to at the next EU Foreign Affairs Council early next year. I pay tribute to the EU training mission in Somalia, which is showing early promise and already training people to ensure that we tackle this problem at its heart and do not rely simply on our undoubted success offshore.
Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)
But what assessment has the Minister made of the links between al-Shabaab and piracy in the region, and what are the Government’s long-term plans to tackle the growth of extremism operating both within and out of Somalia?
Dr Murrison
We have seen some early signs of improvement politically and economically in Somalia. It is absolutely essential that the root causes of insurgency are dealt with at source, and that is happening. The international community is absolutely committed to dealing with this and tackling the menace that al-Shabaab poses.