Cape Town — President Thabo Mbeki described the need for national reconciliation in Somalia as "critical."

Dealing with international issues in his "State of the Nation" address, he said although the restoration of peace in the Great Lakes region was among the "the greatest achievements of the peoples of Africa" in recent years, there were still challenges in the Sudan, Côte d'Ivoire and Somalia.

Although South Africa's Defence Ministry announced recently that it was too overstretched with other peacekeeping commitments to deploy troops to Somalia, Mbeki said his government would "respond appropriately and as our capacity permits, to the call of the African Union for assistance."

He added: "Critical in this regard, are the initiatives under way to ensure that the protagonists within Somalia interact with one another to find a solution that is inclusive and practicable, based on the need to achieve national reconciliation."

Mbeki also emphasized the importance of concluding an international trade agreement in the Doha Development Round of talks – an issue he raised in a meeting with President George W. Bush of the United States in December.

Referring to disputes between developed and developing countries which stalled the talks for the last half of 2006, he said, "We are convinced that solutions to the logjams currently being experienced can be found."