(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) John Kerry made the first visit by a US Secretary of State on Tuesday to Somalia where he met with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, and other government officials and civil society leaders.
The three and a half hour visit is a sign of the US' "commitment" as the country is "making plans to make our presence more enduring in Somalia," said a Senior State Department Official to reporters during a briefing in Kenya.
The official continued, "I think it will send a strong signal to Al-Shabaab that we are not turning our backs on the Somali people and that we will continue to engage with Somalia until we bring al-Shabaab's terror to an end." The official indicated that Kerry would use the visit to thank the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) troop-contributing countries; Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Dijbouti, and Ethiopia, for the contributing in "assisting the lives of the Somali people." He also met with a small civil society group to talk about the challenges that they face, trying to help the Somali Government and help the Somali people, the official indicated.
The US removed its forces from Somalia in 1993 after a US Black Hawk helicopter was shot over Mogadishu and killed 18 soldiers.
In February, The US announced new Foreign Service career ambassador Katherine Dhanani to serve as the first US ambassador to Somalia since 1991. She is waiting to be confirmed by the Senate. Additionally, the official highlighted that the US already has "huge humanitarian programs" and is providing assistance to the Somali National Army.
"What we're pushing the government to do is organize themselves in such a way that they choose a representative government through some form of election or selection that is different from what they've done before," the official affirmed.
Kerry is in Djibouti for the rest of the day before he lands in Riyadh on Wednesday to meet with senior government officials.
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