U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will offer support to Somalia's
fragile government Thursday when she meets with Somali President Sheikh
Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
The two will meet in Nairobi, Kenya, on what will be the second full day of Clinton's seven-nation tour of Africa.
Clinton says she expects to discuss steps the international community
can take to support the Somali leader's efforts to stabilize his
government.
On Tuesday, Mr. Sharif told reporters he considers the meeting with
Clinton a "great opportunity." He said it signals how the
administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is willing to back
Somalia, which has endured 18 years of unrest.
Clinton met Wednesday with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime
Minister Raila Odinga, and urged them to follow through with promised
reforms and prosecute those responsible for last year's post-election
violence.
She said the absence of strong, democratic institutions in Kenya has
permitted -- in her words -- "corruption, impunity, politically
motivated violence, human rights abuses and a lack of respect for the
rule of law."
On Thursday, Mrs. Clinton will lay a wreath in a memorial park to mark
the 11th anniversary of the U.S. embassy bombings in Nairobi. The
attack along with a second embassy bombing in Tanzania killed 224
people.
She will also meet with U.S. embassy personnel and participate in a town forum in Nairobi.
Kenya is the first stop of Clinton's African tour that will also take
her to South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria,
Liberia and Cape Verde.