U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry waves as he departs Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to head to Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport, Djibouti, Wednesday, in Nairobi, Kenya, May 6, 2015.
Wednesday, May 06, 2015
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to hold meetings in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti Wednesday, the latest stop on his foreign tour that included a stop in Somalia on Tuesday.
Kerry is expected to meet with President Ismail Omar Guelleh and Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, and also later with U.S. officials at the U.S. military base Camp Lemmonier. The U.S. military installment in Djibouti has become an important part of the U.S. military presence in them Middle East, as it lies just across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
On Tuesday, Kerry made a historic visit to Somalia, becoming the first top-ranking U.S. diplomat to visit the war-torn country.
VOA's Pam Dockins, who is traveling with Kerry, reports the secretary spent about three-and-a-half hours at the Mogadishu airport, where he met with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the prime minister and other officials.
Somali Foreign Minister Abdisalam Hadliye Omer told VOA's Somali service that the visit shows Somalia has turned around and is "open for business."
He said talks with Kerry focused on giving Somalia a stronger government and prospects for reopening a U.S. embassy in the capital.
“We discussed with the secretary the vision for 2016, finalizing the Somali constitution, holding elections and moving forward," he said. "The secretary said the U.S. is committed to help Somalia's government in rebuilding its army and in the fight against terrorism. We also discussed opening a U.S. embassy in Somalia and we offered a temporary land in Mogadishu to open its embassy. He accepted it and said U.S. diplomatic and defense officials will visit Somalia to work on reopening the embassy.”
After 20 years of chaos and chronic violence, the Somali capital has become much safer in the last few years -- but the government is still dealing with suicide attacks by al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab.
In remarks upon his arrival Tuesday, Kerry expressed hope Somalia will make further progress, saying, "The next time that I come, we have to be able to just walk downtown."
The Somali president said downtown Mogadishu "is very different than it was two years ago," adding the roads have improved and the city now has traffic jams.
Kerry also met with civil society leaders and thanked African Union troops for their role in stabilizing the country. Since 2011, AU troops, working with Somali government forces, have reclaimed most of the towns and cities al-Shabab once controlled.
On Monday in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, Kerry announced millions of dollars in new aid for hundreds of thousands of refugees in Kenya, most of whom are Somalis.
Kerry said $45 million in additional funding will be provided to help the UNHCR assist 600,000 refugees. He praised Nairobi for taking in the refugees.