Somali president, top US diplomat speak over phone

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud held a telephone conversation Wednesday with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and thanked Washington for its "continued" support, according to a statement by the Somali president's office.

"He also reiterated his government's commitment to further strengthening ties with the US,” it said on Twitter.

Mohamud was elected president on May 15 for a second term, becoming the country's first former president reelected to office.

It was his first high-profile telephone conversation since he took office Monday.

US President Joe Biden recently authorized the redeployment of troops to Somalia which Mohamud had welcomed.

Earlier Wednesday, Mohamud met EU's Special envoy for Horn of Africa Annette Weber in Mogadishu.

She is the highest-ranking EU official to visit Somalia since the collapse of a military government in 1991.