The European Union has welcomed a move by the Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon to form a lean cabinet which will for the first time comprise a woman.

In a statement issued in Nairobi on Monday, EU Ambassador to Somalia Michele Cervone d'Urso termed the appointment of the 10- member cabinet which has Fowsiya Adan, as the Horn of African nation's foreign minister as the right step to consolidate the federal institutions.

"This is a further step in the consolidation of the new Federal Institutions. The EU looks forward to the forthcoming submission of the Government work program to the Parliament for its vote of confidence," d'Urso said in the statement.

The ambassador reiterated the EU unequivocal commitment to the Federal Institutions, adding that he was looking forward to the work program and Parliamentary vote.

Shirdon on Sunday announced much-anticipated 10-member cabinet with security as a priority.

"Considering the difficult situation our country is in, I have formed a small cabinet of full quality that can lead the country to reliable stability in this difficult time," Prime Minister Shirdon said on Sunday when he announced the cabinet line-up.

Shirdon appointed Abdelhakim Mohamoud Haji Fiqi as defense minister, having held similar position in government in the previous government.

The Horn of Africa country has been undergoing a peace and national reconciliation process, with a series of landmark steps in recent months that have helped to bring an end to the country's nine-year political transition period.

These steps included the adoption of a Provisional Constitution, the establishment of a new Parliament and the appointments of a new president and a new prime minister.