UN Chief meets Somalia’s leader in ‘historic’ visit to Mogadishu

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday arrived in the Somali capital Mogadishu in a visit described by the Somali presidency as “historic”.

The UN Chief held talks with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud before both leaders addressed the media.

In a Twitter post, the Villa Somalia (Somalia’s presidency) said the two leaders held “productive discussions” as Somalia is “in the midst of tackling humanitarian challenges and acceleration of war on terrorism.”

The statement said Mohamud thanked the UN Chief for his “historic and solidarity visit” noting that the talks mainly revolved around “commitment to sustaining the Somalia-UN partnership through resilience-based investments and civilian stabilization efforts.”

In his remarks, the Somali leader “outlined the government’s progress in security and state-building” and other national priority issues like “drought response, education, healthcare, counterterrorism and the need to lift the arms embargo on Somalia.”

Guterres, for his part, tweeted that he was “happy” to visit Somalia as part of his tradition to visit Muslim countries during the Holy Month of Ramadhan.

The visit by the UN chief comes as Somalia is facing its worst drought in decades and as the government is leading a major offensive to liberate territories under Al-Shabaab terrorists.