MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has appointed a political newcomer as the prime minister just before he departed to Saudi Arabia for his first foreign trip since he was inaugurated.

Somali-born Norwegian national Hassan Ali Khaire, the former executive Africa of the British energy explorer Soma Oil, was appointed as the new prime minister Thursday morning.

Mohamed, who was inaugurated as president on Wednesday, also holds U.S. citizenship. He was elected earlier this month in a step toward establishing Somalia’s first fully functioning central government in a quarter-century.

The new president has vowed to make security a priority in a country where Somalia’s homegrown Islamic extremist group, al-Shabab, still carries out deadly attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, and elsewhere. On Sunday, a car bomb in the capital killed at least 34.

Al-Shabab, earlier this week denounced Mohamed’s election, calling him an apostate, and vowed to keep fighting. Fighters affiliated with the Islamic State organization also have emerged in Somalia.

Source:AP