Somalia–United States relations

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Somalia–United States relations

Somalia

United States

Somalia–United States relations are bilateral relations between Somalia and the United States.

History

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Somalia's then socialist government abandoned alliances with its former partner the Soviet Union due to fallout over the Ogaden War. Because the Soviet Union had close relations with both the Somali government and Ethiopia's then new communist Dergue regime, they were forced to choose one side to commit to. The Soviet shift in support to Ethiopia motivated the Siad Barre government to seek allies elsewhere. It eventually settled on the Soviet Unions' Cold War rival, the United States. The US had been courting the Somali government for some time on account of Somalia's strategic position at the mouth of the Bab el Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Somalia's initial friendship with the Soviet Union and later military support by the United States enabled it to build the largest army on the continent.[1][2]

Former Somalia embassy in Washington, D.C..

After the collapse of the Barre government and the start of the Somali Civil War in the early 1990s, the United States embassy in Mogadishu was evacuated and closed down. However, the American government never formally severed diplomatic ties with Somalia, leading the UN-sanctioned multinational Unified Task Force (UNITAF) in southern Somalia. Following the establishment of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2004, the U.S. also acknowledged and supported the internationally recognized TFG as the country's national governing body. It likewise engaged Somalia's regional administrations, such as Puntland and Somaliland, to ensure broad-based inclusion in the peace process.[3]

File:Hassan Sheikh Mohamud--StateDept Portrait--1.jpg
President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department (January 2013).

The Federal Government of Somalia was established on August 20, 2012, concurrent with the end of the TFG's interim mandate.[4] It represents the first permanent central government in the country since the start of the civil war.[4] On September 10, 2012, the new Federal Parliament also elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the incumbent President of Somalia.[5] The election was welcomed by the U.S. authorities, who re-affirmed United States' continued support for Somalia's government, its territorial integrity and sovereignty.[6]

In January 2013, the U.S. announced that it was set to exchange diplomatic notes with the new central government of Somalia, re-establishing official ties with the country for the first time in 20 years. According to the Department of State, the decision was made in recognition of the significant progress that the Somali authorities had achieved on both the political and war fronts. The move is expected to grant the Somali government access to new sources of development funds from American agencies as well as international bodies like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, thereby facilitating the ongoing reconstruction process.[7][8]

File:Hasshkmhdjhnkry.jpg
President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department (September 2013).

At the behest of the Somali and American federal governments, among other international actors, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved United Nations Security Council Resolution 2093 during its 6 March 2013 meeting to suspend the 21-year arms embargo on Somalia. The endorsement officially lifts the purchase ban on light weapons for a provisional period of one year, but retains certain restrictions on the procurement of heavy arms such as surface-to-air missiles, howitzers and cannons.[9] On April 9, 2013, the U.S. government likewise approved the provision of defense articles and services by the American authorities to the Somali Federal Government.[10] At the request of the Somali authorities and AMISOM, the U.S. military in late 2013 also established a small team of advisers in Mogadishu to provide consultative and planning support to the allied forces.[11]

On 5 May 2015, President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, and other senior Somali government officials met with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Mogadishu. The bilateral meeting was the first ever visit to Somalia by an incumbent US Secretary of State.[12] It served as a symbol of the ameliorated political and security situation in the country.[13] The officials focused on the benchmarks enshrined within Somalia's Vision 2016 political roadmap, as well as cooperation in the security sector.[12]

Trade and partnerships

The United States has continued to be one of the main suppliers of armaments to the Somali National Army (SNA). In June 2009, the reconstituted SNA received 40 tonnes worth of arms and ammunition from the U.S. government to assist it in combating the Islamist insurgency within southern Somalia.[14] The U.S. administration also pledged more military equipment and material resources to help the Somali authorities firm up on general security.[15]

Additionally, the two countries engage in minor trade and investment. Somalia exports legumes, grain baking-related commodities, donated products and machinery to the United States. The U.S. in turn exports precious stones and low-value shipments to Somalia.[16]

Diplomatic missions

Somalia maintains an embassy in Washington, D.C..[17] Between July and December 2014, the diplomatic mission was led by Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, who served as Somalia's first Ambassador to the United States since 1991.[18] As of April 2015, Fatuma Abdullahi Insaniya is the Ambassador of Somalia to the United States.[19] The Somaliland region also has a Liaison Office in Washington, D.C.[20]

The US opened a Consulate-General in Mogadishu in 1957, the capital of the Trust Territory of Somaliland, a UN trusteeship under Italian administration. The consulate was upgraded to embassy status in July 1960, when the US recognized Somalia's independence and appointed an ambassador. It later closed down in January 1991, following the start of the civil war.[21] The US also operated a consulate in Hargeisa in northwestern Somalia in the 1960s.[22] In June 2014, in what she described as a gesture of the deepening relations between Washington and Mogadishu and faith in Somalia's stabilization efforts, U.S. Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman announced that the United States would reopen its diplomatic mission in Mogadishu at an unspecified future date.[23] In February 2015, U.S. President Barack Obama nominated Foreign Service veteran Katherine Simonds Dhanani to become the new Ambassador of the United States to Somalia.[24] Dhanani later withdrew her nomination in May of the year, citing personal reasons.[25]

In May 2015, in recognition of the sociopolitical progress made in Somalia and its return to effective governance, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced a preliminary plan to reestablish the US embassy in Mogadishu. He indicated that although there was no set timetable for the premises' relaunch, the US government had immediately begun upgrading its diplomatic representation in the country.[26] President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke also presented to Kerry the real estate deed for land reserved for the new US embassy compound.[27] In November 2015, Somalia re-opened its embassy in Washington, DC.[28]

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of State (Background Notes).[1]

  1. Oliver Ramsbotham, Tom Woodhouse, Encyclopedia of international peacekeeping operations, (ABC-CLIO: 1999), p.222.
  2. Somalia as a Military Target
  3. The US Dual Track Policy Towards Somalia
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  14. US gives Somalia about 40 tons of arms, ammunition
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  28. Somalia re-opens embassy in Washington, DC

External links