In addition to security issues and the fight against Al-Shabaab, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and CIA Director William J. Burns addressed the rising tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia, particularly regarding a contentious maritime access agreement that Addis Ababa signed with the breakaway region of Somaliland in January. 

Burns previously visited Mogadishu in January, where he met with President Mohamud at the airport before departing just a few hours later.