STORY: SOMALIA LIVESTOCK EXPORT TRT: 2:45 SOURCE: AU/UN IST RESTRICTIONS: This media asset is free for

r editorial broadcast, print, online and radio use. It is not to be sold on and is restricted for other purposes. All enquiries to news@auunist.org CREDIT REQUIRED: AU/UN IST LANGUAGE: SOMALI/NATS DATELINE: 08 MARCH 2013, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

SHOTLIST: 1. Wide shot, Mogadishu port 2. Med shot, camels at the port 3. Wide shot, camels being led through the port 4. Med shot, camels moving 5. Med shot, camel feet moving 6. Close up, camels moving 7. Wide shot, Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid arriving at the port 8. Med shot, police providing security at the seaport 9. Med shot, Prime Minister Shirdon chatting with officials 10. Close up, Somali Prime Minister 11. Med shot, people at the event with camels in the background 12. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid, Prime Minister of the Federal Somali Government: This is a sign that governance, stability and livelihoods are returning to full capacity. We are very grateful and welcome this export. For our part, my government is ready and we have done all thats required for this to happen: roads, the port, taxes and everything related to security. This export has happened because of all of these things, otherwise it would not have been possible. 13. Med shot, Albaraka -5 ship at the Mogadishu port

14. Wide shot, animal transport ship at the port 15. Wide shot, more camels at the port 16. Med shot, camels moving into the ship 17. Med shot, people directing the camels into the ship 18. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Abdulkadir Mohamud Elmi, Indian Ocean Livestock Company Representative: I want to tell all Somalis and businessmen that we are going to open an animal market in south Somalia, this will be an opportunity for them to have a place to sell their animals to exporters so that we can get more animals for export.

19. Med shot, agents looking at the camels inside the ship 20. Med shot, camels entering the ship 21. Wide shot, camels inside their pens in the ship

STORY: Somalia has officially begun exporting livestock, from the main port in its capital Mogadishu, for the first time in 22 years. The launch event, which saw the loading of thousands of livestock including goats and camels onto cargo ships, was officiated by the Prime Minister of the Federal government, Abdi Farah Shirdon. The export of livestock and other produce from the port came to a halt in 1991 when the government of former president Siad Barre was ousted and civil war ensued. Security and economic activity is returning to most parts of south central Somalia as members of the Somali National forces (SNA) and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces are hot on the heels of the extremist group al Shabaab. The 13,055 goats and 2,437 camels that make up the landmark shipment are destined for markets in the United Arab Emirates and other parts of the Gulf. Prime Ministers Shirdon said that this was a sign of the countrys economic recovery even as his government works to rebuild the countrys public institutions. This is a sign that governance, stability and livelihoods are returning to full capacity. We are very grateful and welcome this export. For our part, my government is ready and we have done all thats required for this to happen: roads, the port, taxes and everything related to security. This export has happened because of all of these things, otherwise it would not have been possible, he said. During Somalias conflict years, exporters used ports in the semi-autonomous regions of Puntland and Somaliland to ship animals out. Companies like the Indian Ocean Livestock

Company are now flocking back to the capital, which has its own veterinary quarantine that checks the animals before they are exported. The federal government says its working with the private sector to ensure consistent supplies of livestock, and that other regions in the country benefit from the ports reopening. I want to tell all Somalis and businessmen that we are going to open an animal market in south Somalia, this will be an opportunity for them to have a place to sell their animals to exporters so that we can get more animals for export, says Abdulkadir Mohamud Elmi, the Indian Ocean Livestock Companys representative. Livestock export is the largest revenue generating activity in the country with one camel fetching about 300 to 1000 US dollars, depending on its age and strength. In 2010, it is estimated that Somalia exported about 4.2 million animals through the ports of Berbera in Somaliland and Bossaso in Puntland.