Mogadishu: Britain is appointing a new ambassador to Somalia, resuming its diplomatic presence after more than 20 years of upheaval.
Foreign Secretary William Hague arrived in Mogadishu on Thursday and appointed Matt Baugh as a senior UK Somalia representative. Hague is the first British foreign secretary to visit Mogadishu in 20 years.
The appointment comes just ahead of a February 23 global conference on Somalia that the UK is hosting.
Hague met with Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and said the UK will help Somalia during a year of political transition. The Somali government`s UN mandate expires in August.
The UN last month sent its senior representative on Somalia to Mogadishu for the first time in nearly two decades.
Bureau Report
