Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Thursday in Addis Ababa that his country welcomes Uganda's decision to deploy peacekeeping troops to Somalia.

Ugandan President Yoweri Musevini, who is on a two-day official visit here, said his country would deploy the peacekeeping troops to Somalia immediately after the country's parliament endorsed the decision.

In a joint press conference after their talks, Meles said Ethiopia views positively Uganda's decision to deploy peacekeeping troops to Somalia, and expressed hope that the country's parliament would endorse the decision as soon as possible.

The deployment of African peacekeeping force is not intended to meddle in the affairs of Somalia, but to help Somalis in their stride towards a better path through peacekeeping, he said.

Meles said the Ethiopian forces have accomplished their mission and would withdraw from Somalia in the very near future, and added that efforts would be exerted to encourage other African countries to contribute peacekeeping troops like Uganda.

At the joint press conference, both Meles and Musevini called on the international community to give immediate assistance to Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

Musevini said over the past decade the people of Somalia have suffered a lot due to the neglect of the international community.

Currently, Musevini said a favorable situation has been created to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Somalia and to support the TFG to stand on its own.

Uganda has been prepared to deploy peacekeeping troops to Somalia since two years ago, Musevini said.

Africa's problem should be solved by Africans themselves, he said, and added that the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) should play the leading role to help resolve the problem in Somalia.

Musevini said Somalis should resolve the problem in their country through dialogue and discussion and called on the international community to provide financial assistance to the TFG for the rehabilitation efforts, humanitarian affairs as well as to enable it possess a strong security forces.

Source: Xinhua