UAE: tackle root causes of piracy

UAE hosting anti-piracy conference this week.

UAE keen on tackling root causes of piracy: Abdullah

Building local capacity is key to rooting out piracy off Somali coast, Foreign Minister says With piracy off the Somali coast at an all-time low, the international community should now focus on tackling the root cause of the problem by strengthening local governments, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, said ahead of the fourth Counter-Piracy Conference in Dubai on Wednesday.

While appreciating the roles played by different countries and organisations in containing the dangers of piracy, he warned against complacency.

Pirate attacks around the coast of Somalia have seen a steep decline over the last two years, compared with the levels of 2011, when Somali pirates attacked 236 ships.

There were only 15 such incidents throughout 2013 and this year so far only two unsuccessful attacks were registered.

“This remarkable success is testimony to the effectiveness of international counter-piracy cooperation in the Horn of Africa. Despite recent successes, there is no room for complacency. Although incidents of piracy have plummeted, other forms of crime on the high seas are on the rise. These include illegal fishing, human trafficking, the smuggling of arms and drugs, and armed robbery. The threats to regional security posed by these crimes amount to those of terrorist acts. And they are becoming difficult to control and contain,” said Shaikh Abdullah.

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Source: en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com