Undersecretary of State Highest Ranking U.S. Official to Visit Mogadishu in Decades

Met with the president and other newly-installed political leaders

Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman became the first senior U.S. official to visit Mogadishu, Somalia, in more than 20 years November 4, reflecting the United States' commitment to support efforts by Somalia's leaders to stabilize the Horn of Africa nation after more than 20 years of civil strife and violence.

Sherman, who is the under secretary for political affairs, met with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahamud, Speaker of the Federal Parliament Mohammed Osman Jawari, African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Force Commander Lieutenant General Andrew Gutti, the U.N. deputy special representative of the secretary-general for Somalia, and leaders of Somalia's civil society and business community, according to the State Department. They met at Mogadishu's Aden Abdulle International Airport.