A day after a deadly bomb blast claimed by al-Shabab struck a Mogadhishu hotel, U.S. President Barack Obama arrived at the National Palace in neighboring Ethiopia for talks with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and to convene a meeting of East African heads of state to discuss the South Sudan conflict.

Monday’s discussions with Desalegn were expected to focus on anti-terrorism, with the United States seeing Ethiopia as a key ally in fighting the Islamist extremist group al-Shabab and helping to stabilize Somalia. In line with the bilateral talks, the White House announced the United States intends to provide at least $40 million in assistance related to countering violent extremism in East Africa on top of some $465 million in proposed funding for training, equipment, capacity building and countering violent extremist initiatives throughout Africa.

The assistance comes as White House officials strongly condemned Sunday’s bombing of the Jazeera Hotel in Mogadishu that killed at least 13 people. During his visit to Ethiopia – the first by a sitting U.S. president – Obama will reiterate U.S. commitment to working with Somali authorities and regional partners to counter extremism. The issue was also a focus during the American leader’s talks with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi on July 25. Kenyatta will join President Obama and leaders from the African Union, Uganda and Sudan later Monday for talks focused on the crisis in South Sudan.

Obama’s visit to Ethiopia has drawn criticism from human rights activists who say Prime Minister Desalegn’s repressive regime has rounded up journalists, dissidents and members of the opposition during counterterrorism operations. The U.S. leader is expected to raise the country’s human rights record during talks Monday.

Ahead of the Monday talks, Obama was welcomed at the National Palace in Addis Ababa, where he and Desalegn listened to Ethiopia’s National Marching Band play the national anthems of both their countries. Obama also planned to meet with Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome.

Before Ethiopia, Obama spent two days in his father’s homeland of Kenya, where he was hailed as a native son.

In a speech before his departure Sunday, the president said Kenya is at a crossroads “filled with peril, but also with enormous promise.”

This is the first time a sitting U.S. president has visited Ethiopia, which has been a key U.S. ally in the fight against the Al-Qaida-linked militant group Al-Shabab.

Senior administration officials say the leaders will discuss what to do next if South Sudan’s president and opposition leader do not sign an African proposal for winding down the war.  Possible steps are said to include an arms embargo and international sanctions on key individuals.

The White House has said Obama will raise the issue of Ethiopia’s human rights record.  Rights group have strongly criticized the government for imprisoning journalists and political opponents and turning Ethiopia into a one-party state.  The ruling EPRDF swept this year’s elections and controls 100 percent of the seats in parliament.

On Tuesday, Obama makes a visit to the African Union headquarters in Addis before beginning his flight home to Washington.

In Nairobi, the president praised Kenya’s achievements winning independence in 1963, among them ending one-party rule and overcoming the deadly tribal and ethnic violence that broke out in 2007 and plagued the country for several months. “The people of Kenya chose not to be defined by the hatreds of the past,” Obama said. “You chose a better history.”

Watch VOA’s Gabe Joselow’s video report:

President Obama said Kenya’s future success depends on three crucial pillars: strong and transparent democratic governance, universal economic development, and a strong sense of national identity that “rejects conflict for a future of peace and reconciliation.”

He urged the country to increase efforts to root out official corruption, saying “every shilling that is paid as a bribe, could be put in the pocket of someone that’s doing an honest day’s work.”

Obama paid special attention to gender equality, saying “Kenya will not succeed if it treats girls and women as second-class citizens.”  

President Obama ended a busy day in Nairobi Saturday at a state dinner hosted by Mr. Kenyatta. 

Obama noted that his Kenyan-born father and Kenyatta’s father knew each other, and said, “It would have been hard for them to imagine how their sons might be sitting here today.”  He also joked that “some of my critics back home are suggesting that I’m back here to look for my birth certificate,” a reference to accusations that he is not a U.S.-born citizen, which would make him constitutionally ineligible for the presidency.

VOA’s Anita Powell on what to expect during Obama’s time in Ethiopia:

​

VOA’s Gabe Joselow, Anita Powell, Arash Arabasadi and Vincent Makori contributed to this story.
…