Somalia hires US lobby firm to overturn Trump travel ban

The government of Somalia has hired a US lobbying firm to help lift President Donald Trump's travel ban and overturn a partial suspension of US funding for Somalia's army.

The US Supreme Court in June upheld President Donald Trump's travel ban targeting mostly Muslim countries, including Iran, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan.

The agreement with Sonoran Policy Group (SPG) was signed earlier this month, with the Somali government paying $400,000 to the firm until the end of 2018, according to Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper.

SPG said it is "delighted to have the opportunity to leverage our disruptive global diplomacy, marketing, branding and communications as well as public affairs subject matter expertise on behalf of the Federal Government of Somalia," according to a disclosure form filed with the US Justice Department.

The firm has committed to arrange talks with White House officials and lawmakers aimed at ending a partial US suspension of military funding for Somalia's army, initiated last year after concerns over rampant corruption.

SPG will also help reverse the inclusion of Somalia on Trump's list of travel-ban countries and help facilitate a future visit to the US by Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.

The contract also entails work by the lobby group to improve Somalia's image in the US.

The agreement is likely to extend beyond the initial four-month contract, after which point SPG says it will strive to influence the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to reduce Somalia's debt load.

The Sonoran Policy Group is owned by Robert Stryk, who is alleged to have ties to members of Trump's team.

Stryk represented Trump's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in 2016, brokering a $1.2 million book deal which later collapsed.

Last year, Saudi Arabia hired SPG as a "government affairs and commercial sector adviser" for $5.4 million in a bid to improve relations with the US.

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