John Kerry Arrives In Somalia For Unannounced Visit

He becomes the first U.S. Secretary of State to travel to the country, which has been hit by decades of conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Somalia Tuesday on an unannounced trip, making him the first top American diplomat to visit the country, AP reported.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Nairobi, Kenya, May 3.

Andrew Harnik / AP

The visit is seen as a show of solidarity with Somalia's government as it attempts to defeat the Al Shabaab militant group and end the country's decades-long war.

Kerry landed in the capital, Mogadishu, at 12:00 p.m. local time (5 a.m. ET) with Linda Greenfield-Thomas, one of the State Department's top Africa officials. The Somali government only found out Monday that Kerry would be joining Greenfield-Thomas on the trip on Monday, AP said.

Kerry was greeted by Somalia's President and Prime Minister on the tarmac, before immediately entering into a series of meetings. He will not be venturing past the airport, such is the instability of the country.

"I'm glad to be here," Kerry said as he met President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

As the pair sat down together, Mohamud said: "This is a great moment for us. Thank you for the time to be with us."

"The next time I come, we have to be able to just walk downtown," Kerry said, to which Mohamud responded, downtown Mogadishu "is very different now."

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement that the trip aimed "to reinforce the United States' commitment to supporting Somalia's ongoing transition to a peaceful democracy."

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