London will host on Thursday an international conference on Somalia, which is expected to gather heads of state, foreign ministers and other high-ranking officials from more than 40 countries, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.
Russia's envoy to Africa, Mikhail Margelov, will also take part in the talks.
Speaking ahead of the conference, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the aim of the talks was to “agree a series of practical measures to support Somalia and to help the country get on it's feet,” the Foreign Office said in a statement published on its website.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to attend the conference along with leaders and key ministers from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Qatar and France.
Somalia will be represented by its leader Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and leaders of the country’s transitional government.
Representatives of the World Bank, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League are also expected to join the talks.
Russian warships have contributed to international anti-piracy efforts off the Somali coast since 2008, successfully escorting more than 130 commercial vessels from various countries through the pirate-infested waters.
Russia has also called on the UN to create an international court similar to the international tribunals in the Netherlands involving Yugoslavia and Rwanda to try Somali pirates.
