CAR Transition Prime Minister asks for enhanced AU and international support

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 8 July, 2013:The Prime Minister of the Transitional Government in the Central African Republic, H.E. Nicolas Tiangaye has requested the African Union and the international community to increase its support to his crisis-hit country to enable it quickly return to normalcy. Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye made the plea during a meeting with the African Union Commission Chairperson, H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, at the AU Head Quarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian, 8 July 2013.

They discussed the enormous challenges CAR is confronted with, ranging from security, humanitarian, economic and financial challenges. Security remains the most pressing challengegiven it direct impact on other sectors. With over 1.5 million people internally displaced, medical services are disrupted and humanitarian agencies find it extremely difficult and risky to bring the much needed assistance to the population in desperate need. To address this, Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangayesaid that CAR requires about 3,500 troops and a robust mandate to help provide security.

In response, the AU Chairperson promised that the AU will continue to mobilize other countries to provide and deploy troops as soon as possible. “We will also have to keep mobilizing the international community to ensure that the country is not forgotten,” Dr. Dlamini Zuma assured the Prime Minister and his delegation.

Dr.Dlamini Zuma also highlighted the importance to prepare for elections within the agreed 18 month transition period in ways that does not exacerbate the crises. “Everyone must come together to ensure that the conditions for national dialogue and reconciliation are truly inclusive,”the Chairperson emphasized, adding that, “It is only when you can find an inclusive and sustainable solution that the country can prosper and socio-economic development will take its rightful course.”

Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye and his delegation met with Dr. Dlamini Zuma after attending the second meeting of the International Contact Group on the Central African Republic organized by the AU Peace and Security Department.The AU remains engaged with CAR, and to assist as best as it can to accelerate it return to normalcy.