Pirates hold 45 Filipino seamen War-torn Somalia, with its worsening modern-day piracy problems and the growth of Islamic terrorist group Al Shabaab in the country, remains to be a major global security threat and will continue to hold the global maritime industry hostage unless the international community helps this once prosperous African nation, said state leaders who convened in Dubai for the 2nd UAE Counter-Piracy Conference.The UAE-led conference held on June 27 to 28, 2012, brought together for the first time in 21 years the president of the transitional federal government of Somalia, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed; and Somaliland President Ahmed Mahamoud Silanyo, who signed a communiqué agreeing to formally endorse the process of talks between the two warring governments.Jose Brillantes, Philippine foreign affairs undersecretary for special and ocean concerns, meanwhile, said 45 Filipino seafarers and five ships are still held by the Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden."The threat posed by maritime piracy to global trade, and to the region's security and economic well-being, continues to be grave," said UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.UAE, which brokered the deal between TFG and Somaliland, pledged $1 million to support Somalia's maritime security-capacity-building efforts in countering the activities ...
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