Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking, alongside her international counterparts, to secure a long-term solution on (a) food security and (b) general stability in Somalia.

The UK hosted an international Conference on Somalia in London in May 2017 at which agreements were reached to work to improve security, strengthen Somalia’s political foundations, and help the economy recover in order to put Somalia on the path to peace and prosperity and break the cycle of persistent humanitarian crises. Our efforts in Somalia – including through the UK aid programme – are designed to support progress in all these areas. The UK played a leading role in responding to the 2017 drought and related food security crisis, and will ensure these efforts continue into 2018.