The country is just coming out of more than 20 years of civil conflict.

Somalia's government and international donors yesterday, September 16, 2013 signed up to a three-year plan to rebuild the conflict-torn country, backed by pledges of new funding from the European Union, EU worth 650 million Euros (about FCFA 426 billion), Al Jazeera TV reported.

EU Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, who made the announcement, said the funding for the period 2013-2016 will contribute to all peace and state-building goals, adding that the bloc will continue to fund the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, AMISOM. Some 50 high-level delegations from Africa, Europe and the Gulf attended the one-day meeting in Brussels, along with aid groups and global finance institutions.

The New Deal Compact sets out the government’s priorities and outlines future international support. Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, highlighted four priorities on which the money will be spent - security, legal reforms, public finances and economic recovery. The BBC cited President Mohamud as saying the deal was based on Somali-led initiatives.

The Brussels, Belgium conference was aimed at consolidating fragile security gains in Somalia after two decades of civil war and lawlessness triggered by the overthrow of President Siad Barre in 1991. The UK's Ambassador to Somalia, Neil Wigan, expressed hope that the combined efforts of donors will maintain momentum and deliver the change that the people of Somalia need, AFP news agency reported. A senior EU diplomat, Nick Westcott, said Somalia was beginning to pull itself together after 20 years of conflict. The EU is the largest donor to Somalia. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's government is the first to be recognised by the US in more than 20 years.