BRUSSELS, April 23 (Xinhua) -- International donors have pledged 213 million U.S. dollars to boost security in Somalia, UN Special Representative for Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah announced on Thursday.

    Most of the funds will be used to strengthen the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Somalia (AMISOM) and to help establish the Somali security forces over the next months, Ould-Abdallah told a press conference at the conclusion of a donors' conference for Somalia.

    The funds pledged are more than what has been requested -- 166 million dollars, said Ould-Abdallah.

    The European Commission, the single largest donor at the conference, pledged 72 million euros (94 million dollars), almost half of the total funds.

    AMISOM will get 60 million euros with the remaining 12 million euros going to training of some 10,000 police officers for Somalia.

    The EU funds are on top of some 215 million euros already allocated for development aid for Somalia between 2008 and 2013 and 45.8 million euros in humanitarian aid for 2008.

    At the donors' conference, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stressed the importance of international support for the new Somali government led by President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. "We must push open this window of opportunity," he told the conference. "The risks of not supporting the new government are too high; costs of failure are too enormous."

    Ban said the only lasting solution to Somalia's two decades of lawlessness is one owned by the Somalis themselves. The new Somali government does not have the capacity to maintain security. Therefore, the international community must help strengthen the security sector in the country. More security on the ground will mean less piracy on the seas, he said.

    Ban said AMISOM must have the resources it needs to do its job. He said earlier on Thursday that he has recommended to the UN Security Council for the setting up of a UN peacekeeping mission in Somalia once conditions are ripe.

    "I have recommended to the Security Council that we adopt an incremental approach to setting up an eventual UN peacekeeping operation in Somalia. That is, once circumstances and conditions are appropriate," Ban told reporters after a breakfast meeting with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

    Ban said days ago that a UN peace mission for now would be a bad idea.

    Somali President Ahmed pledged at the conference that his government will do its utmost to restore peace in his country and to ensure freedoms of its citizens.

    The conference, convened under the auspices of the United Nations and the African Union, drew together representatives from some 60 countries as well as international bodies such as the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Conference.