The U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu invited the Council to an event bidding farewell to Chargé d'Affaires Justin Davis and welcoming his successor, Ruth Anne.
For the Council's Chairman, Ambassador Idd Bedel Mohamed, the occasion was a chance to look back over a long engagement with the United States: more than 17 years as a Somali diplomat in Washington and at the United Nations, from 2001 to 2018, working alongside successive U.S. administrations and ambassadors.
He recalls the cycles the relationship has gone through, from withdrawal in the 1990s to the restoration of diplomatic relations, the reopening of embassies in Mogadishu and Washington, and the return of a U.S. Defense Attaché to Mogadishu.
His argument is that the new Chargé arrives at the right moment: the United States has already invested in Somalia's peace and security, and the next step is to build on that foundation.