Cairo, 21 April 2010 – Hosted by the League of Arab States, the 17th International Contact Group on Somalia started today in Cairo. In addition to the founding members, Norway and the US, representatives from more than 50 countries and international organisations attended. The objective of the Cairo meeting is to follow up on the directions provided by the Government in terms of reconciliation and outreach, strengthening the security sector institutions (SSI) and addressing reconstruction and development.