WASHINGTON – On June 20, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson met with Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia. The two affirmed the close U.S.-Somali partnership in combatting al-Shabaab and its illicit financial activities, areas to further enhance ongoing counter terrorist financing cooperation, and the need for robust anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing (AML/CFT) frameworks to protect financial systems from abuse and provide broad access to well-regulated financial services. They also discussed the importance of strong economic governance and Somalia’s progress to advance critical reforms to reach the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Countries (HIPC) Completion Point for debt relief.