For the first time in more than two decades , the United States has granted official recognition to the Somali government in Mogadishu . `` There is still a long way to go and many challenges to confront , but we have seen a new foundation for that better future being laid , '' Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday in a joint news conference with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud , who stood beaming at her side . Clinton praised Somalia 's actions in reducing the level of extremism since she took office in January 2009 , when `` Al Shabaab controlled most of Mogadishu and south and central Somalia , and looked like it would gain more territory . '' Al Shabaab is a militant Islamist group with connections to al Qaeda . Somalia was plunged into chaos after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991 . Following his ouster , clan warlords and militants battled for control , sparking a civil war and mayhem nationwide . Somali Islamists kill French hostage . The nation since then has mostly been under shaky transitional federal governments . But the final transitional federal government made `` unmistakable '' progress , Clinton said , with Somali security forces supported by an African Union mission and troops from Uganda , Burundi , Kenya and Djibouti driving Al Shabaab from the nation 's cities and towns . `` Al Shabaab has been driven from Mogadishu and every other major city in Somalia , '' she said . Even as they were fighting extremists , the country 's leaders were working to create a democratic government , and have done so -- with a new president , a new parliament , a new prime minister and a new constitution , she said . Mohamud was elected president in September . Clinton noted that the United States supported the changes , providing more than $ 650 million in aid to the African Union mission in Somalia , more than $ 130 million to the country 's security forces , nearly $ 360 million in emergency humanitarian aid over the past two years and more than $ 45 million in development-related assistance to help rebuild the economy . In addition , U.S. largesse has provided more than $ 200 million in aid for Somali refugees throughout the Horn of Africa , she said . With recognition , Somalia now can participate in certain foreign assistance programs , including military training and financing programs , the State Department said . Ship crew rescued after 1,000 days . Clinton , who is soon to step down from her job leading the State Department , vowed that the two countries will continue to work closely together as they confront the ongoing threat of extremism in the region . `` The terrorists , as we have learned once again in the last days , are not resting , and neither will we , '' she said . `` We will be very clear-eyed and realistic about the threat they continue to pose . '' She said she looks forward to the re-establishment of a permanent U.S. diplomatic presence in Mogadishu . The news conference came shortly after President Barack Obama met with his Somali counterpart at the White House , a meeting that Clinton described as `` a very strong signal to the people of Somalia of our continuing support and commitment . '' Mohamud acknowledged that his country is `` emerging from a very long , difficult period '' marked by instability , extremism and piracy , and is moving toward an era of peace and development . `` We are aiming to make a valuable contribution to the region and the world at large , '' he said . He described the past 22 years as `` difficult times '' during which `` the United States has always been the country that never left Somalia . '' He credited U.S. intervention in the early 1990s with having saved more than 300,000 Somali lives . `` Had that intervention not been there , it would have been difficult and different today -- the situation in Somalia , '' he said . Clinton said Somalia 's emergence as a democracy has changed its relationship with the United States : `` We have moved into a normal sovereign-nation-to-sovereign-nation position and we have moved into an era where we are going to be a good partner , a steadfast partner , to Somalia as Somalia makes the decisions for its own future . ''
`` The terrorists ... are not resting , and neither will we , '' Hillary Clinton says . She is referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) -- a group that has seized large swaths of territory in both countries since 2014. Somalia was plunged into chaos after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991 .