The United States will begin the process of reestablishing a diplomatic mission in Somalia after a more than 20-year break, John Kerry said yesterday as he became the first US Secretary of State to visit the Horn of Africa nation.

Western nations have poured aid into Somalia to help reconstruction and prevent it from sliding back into the hands of al Shabaab.

An African Union force, Amisom, supported by US drone strikes, has pushed the al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group from its former strongholds, but it uses territory inside the country still under its control to launch attacks there and in Kenya and other neighbouring states.

“In recognition of the progress made and the promise to come, the United States will begin the process of establishing the premises for a diplomatic mission in [the Somali capital] Mogadishu,” Kerry said in a statement.

During a three-hour visit inside the perimeter of the city’s airport, surrounded by seven-foot walls of sandbags, Kerry met Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the Prime Minister and provincial leaders.

“While we do not yet have a fixed timeline for reopening the embassy, we are immediately beginning the process of upgrading our diplomatic representation,” Kerry said.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.