NAIROBI, July 27 (Xinhua) -- UN Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah on Monday welcomed the first meeting of the Joint Security Committee held in Somali capital of Mogadishu as an important step towards reforming and improving security in the country.

    The meeting on Saturday was attended by interior, defense and national security ministers among others, representatives from AMISOM, Italy, the European Union (Swedish Presidency), the European Commission, the office of the European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the UN Political Office for Somalia.

    The Joint Security Committee was established by the Djibouti Agreement to discuss security issues and has been adapted in its composition and terms of reference to address the current situation.

    It now consists of key government figures, AMISOM, the UN Political Office for Somalia and other members of the international community, including the League of Arab States.

    "This committee provides a key forum for the Somali government and international community to work together on supporting the security sector at this crucial time," said Ould-Abdallah in a statement issued in Nairobi.

    The committee aims at harmonizing the work by the government and the international community to support stability and Somalia's security institutions such as the national army and police.

    This includes issues such as disbursing the financial aid pledged during the Brussels Conference in April and coordinating training.

    The committee will meet on a regular basis and eventually cover other areas of security sector reform and the establishment of the rule of law.

    It was the first time that the committee has met in Mogadishu, the scene of such fierce fighting over the past two months that has forced an estimated 200,000 residents to flee their homes, joining the hundreds of thousands of other internally displaced persons within Somalia.