The United Nations senior envoy in Somalia has called upon the government to set clear objectives and timelines that will enable it deliver on the set priorities by 2020.

James Swan, special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, made the remarks at the ongoing Somalia Partnership Forum (SPF) in Mogadishu, where he called for concerted efforts to tackle existing challenges to pave way for their delivery.

"This Somalia Partnership Forum now offers an opportunity to chart a course forward for the next 12 to 15 months, with clearly defined priority objectives and timelines,"Swan told participants from 50 countries on Tuesday, according to a statement issued by the UN mission (UNSOM).

"While acknowledging and celebrating progress to date, we must also be honest and frank about the challenges that remain. And, together, we must redouble efforts to overcome these challenges and ensure that 2020 is the year of delivery on the most important priorities," he added.

The UN envoy noted that the intent was to focus on the so-called Mutual Accountability Framework (MAF) for 2019-2020, and have an active discussion and exchange of ideas for how to implement its content.

"Today, I suggest we seize the opportunity of so many friends of Somalia gathered around this table to emphasize concrete steps needed for implementation of priority commitments agreed in the Mutual Accountability Framework," he said.

Somalia is emerging from decades of war, a period that stalled development in the country.

The country's war has been perpetrated by the al-Shabaab terror group whose aim is to topple the government and instill an extremist system of governance.

With help from the international community, the Horn of African country is seeing progress in the fight to crush the militant group and return lasting peace.