Significance of Somali president’s visit to Washington

Ahmed Adel

The security, political and economic gains achieved by the visit of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to the United States reinforce the course of his country, which is waging a fierce war against terrorism and facing the dilemma of drought.

In a meeting that included US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Thursday, June 22, the two sides discussed opportunities to continue military cooperation to confront regional threats, according to a statement by the US Department of Defense.

The two sides also discussed developments in the bilateral defense relationship, while Austin praised the current Somali security performance and the sacrifices made by Somalis to confront the terrorist Al-Shabaab movement.

Cooperation with regional partners

During his meeting with Mohamud in Washington, Secretary Austin stressed the importance of increasing cooperation with regional partners, expressing the Pentagon’s intention to work with Somalia to coordinate in combating Al-Shabaab.

For his part, Mohamud affirmed that Somalia is closer to peace and stability than it has been for a long time, thanking the United States for its continuous support and standing by the Somali Republic.

The Somali president said that the army has recovered more than 70 cities from the grip of Al-Shabaab over the past year, adding that the authorities have made efforts to enhance security, which has led to a significant decrease in terrorist attacks in the capital, Mogadishu.

Demands to lift the arms embargo on Somalia

In the UN Security Council, Mohamud delivered a speech in which he addressed several issues, spoke in detail about the security situation in the country, and submitted an immediate request to lift the arms embargo that has been imposed on Somalia since 1992.

In his speech, the Somali president focused on the current situation in his country and his government’s efforts to achieve security and eliminate extremism, but he noted that the process of achieving peace and prosperity faces a difficult challenge represented by the arms embargo imposed on his country, stressing clearly that the Somalia of today is not the Somalia of 1992.

Mohamud also highlighted the ongoing military operations aimed at liberating the lands under the control of Al-Shabaab, noting that his government, with the support of Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti, aims in the second phase of the war against Al-Shabaab to restore and secure the areas under the control of the extremist group, stressing the importance of international cooperation and assistance in achieving this goal.

Overcoming frigid relations

Bilateral relations between Mogadishu and Washington witnessed a severe cooling, which affected efforts to combat terrorism and the political and security stability of Somalia, culminating in the withdrawal of US forces in January 2021 due to the policies of former President Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmaajo”.

After the election of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the Somali president in May 2022, US President Joe Biden agreed to reposition his country’s forces in Somalia as part of a message of great support for the new president in the fight against terrorism.

The role of the US forces in Somalia is not related to leadership or combat, nor will it be after their redeployment again, as confirmed by the US Department of Defense, but rather it is limited to providing advice, logistical and intelligence support to the Somali forces.

Matching visions

Mohamed Ezzeddin, a researcher of African affairs, said that Mohamud’s visit to Washington and his meeting with a number of US officials confirms the convergence of visions between Somalia and the United States to defeat Al-Shabaab in Somalia according to new intellectual and economic policies and to exploit the popular uprising against terrorism.

In a special statement to the Reference, Ezzeddin confirmed that the United States will adopt initiatives that will strengthen government institutions and fund security efforts to ward off any attempt by any other international forces, especially Russia and China, to enter the Somali political arena in light of the raging struggle to obtain military bases in the Horn of Africa.

Ezzeddin pointed out that Somalia should benefit from the American interest and the positive steps that Washington is taking towards Mogadishu to break terrorism and save the country from famine that threatens more than half of the Somali population.