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    February 02, 2012

Britain Names New Ambassador to Somalia

   VOA News
   Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed (L) receives diplomatic
   credentials from the Britain's new ambassador to Somalia Matt Baugh (R)
   at the Hilltop presidential palace in Mogadishu, Somalia, February 2,
   2012. Photo: AFP
   Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed (L) receives diplomatic
   credentials from the Britain's new ambassador to Somalia Matt Baugh (R)
   at the Hilltop presidential palace in Mogadishu, Somalia, February 2,
   2012.

   Britain has appointed its first ambassador to war-torn Somalia in more
   than two decades.
   The announcement came Thursday, as British Foreign Secretary William
   Hague made a landmark visit to the Horn of Africa country.
   Matt Baugh will serve as London's new senior envoy to Somalia. But
   British officials say he will be based in neighboring Kenya until
   security conditions allow for an embassy to be built in the Somali
   capital, Mogadishu.
   Hague said in a statement that the appointment is a sign of Britain's
   "long-term commitment to Somalia."
   His visit comes ahead of a conference later this month in London that
   aims to come up with a comprehensive approach to end years of
   instability in country.
   Britain's ambassador left Somalia 21 years ago as the country descended
   into chaos following the collapse of the country's last stable
   government.
   More recently, a U.N.-supported transitional government has struggled
   to contain an Islamist insurgency and deal with a famine that has
   ravaged much of the southern part of the country.
   Hague is the first British foreign secretary to visit Mogadishu in
   nearly 20 years.
   U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also made a historic visit to the
   Somali capital in December, during which he announced that the U.N.
   would move its political office to Mogadishu from Kenya after a 17-year
   absence.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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