President Uhuru Kenyatta with British Prime Minister David Cameron. The
two leaders held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the ongoing United
Nations General Assembly in New York on September 28, 2015. PHOTO |
PSCU
NEW YORK
Kenya and the United
Kingdom have taken steps to repair their relations, which soured after
Mr Uhuru Kenyatta was elected president.
This was after
President Kenyatta held a meeting on the sidelines of the ongoing
United Nations General Assembly with British Prime Minister David
Cameron.
The two leaders agreed to improve relations between the two countries.
Mr
Cameron accepted President Kenyatta's invitation to visit Kenya in the
first half of next year as a sign of closer diplomatic relations.
The
President wrote to the British PM in July this year, inviting him to
visit Kenya for talks on the relations between the two countries.
The
media were asked to leave the room after the two leaders started the
talks. High-level representatives from the two countries were present.
President
Kenyatta was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina
Mohamed, her Interior Affairs colleague Joseph Nkaissery and
Solicitor-General Njee Muturi.
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and four senior advisers accompanied Mr Cameron.
BRITISH TROOPS
In
a statement released later, the British PM was quoted stating that
Kenya and the UK should take their bilateral relations to a higher
level.
"It is time for us to reset our relationship and put the past behind us,” he said.
To
show his determination to renew the relations, agreements on security
assistance by Britain were signed, among other deals that will see Kenya
benefit from its former colonial master.
The thorny issue of a military agreement, which allows British troops to train in Kenya, was also discussed.
Mr Cameron was hopeful that President Kenyatta would finally sign the deal that ended in May this year.
Kenya
had complained about the terms of the agreement and gave conditions to
be met before British military officers are allowed to train in the
country.
President Kenyatta used the meeting to express Kenya's dissatisfaction with the UK travel advisories.
He said the advisories had hurt the country's tourism sector, which is a top foreign exchange earner.
“The advisories work contrary to our aim to defeat extremism and they have hurt the economy of the whole coast region,” he said.
He
argued that terrorism was a global menace that should be fought by all
countries and Kenya was concerned that instead of the West working with
it to end the vice, it was closing its doors to tourists.
SOMALIA
President
Kenyatta said Kenya was ready to cooperate with Britain on security
matters and the same engagements will be strengthened.
Mr Cameron said the advisories were generated by a different institution and their effect on Kenya's economy is regrettable.
“We
all agree that the effects of the advisories are what the terrorists
actually want because it defeats the efforts to stop extremists from
seducing people into their activities,” he said.
The
two leaders discussed regional efforts, in which Kenya is playing a
major role, to bring back stability to Somalia, South Sudan and other
areas in the greater Eastern Africa affected by conflicts.
The
two leaders agreed that there was a need for a more concerted global
effort to make Somalia stable by defeating the terrorists, who pose
threats to Kenya as well as other neighbouring countries.
President
Kenyatta said the fight against Al-Shabaab in Somalia would be
intensified to defeat them completely and make Somalia stable.
“It
is not in the interest of Kenya or the whole world to continue with the
status quo in Somalia because the problem is not going away. We have to
defeat the terrorists conclusively to end the problem in Somalia which
has affected us,” he said.
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