Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Somalia counterpart President
Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo at State House Nairobi on March 24. PHOTO|
SAMUEL MIRING’U
By Justus Wanga
In Summary
Other pledges include:
- The opening up of two border posts - Dobley-Libol and Mandera -Bulahawa - to allow the movement of people and goods between Kenya and Somalia
- Kenya will train 500 Somali personnel as part of a wider campaign to enable the country to stand on its feet; they comprise 200 teachers, 200 nurses and 100 administrators
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced the resumption of direct flights between Nairobi and Mogadishu.
The flights are scheduled to start in two weeks time.
The flights are scheduled to start in two weeks time.
President Uhuru made the announcement on March 23 at State House
in Nairobi, where he held bilateral talks with visiting Somalia
President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo.
“I have directed the security teams from both countries to meet
immediately and agree on the modalities of relaunching direct flights
between Nairobi and Mogadishu," said President Kenyatta.
The flights were stopped at the height of counter-insurgency
measures to prevent the infiltration of members of the Al-Shabaab
terrorist group who operate from Somalia.
President Kenyatta also ordered the opening up of two border posts to allow the movement of people and goods between the two countries.
President Kenyatta also ordered the opening up of two border posts to allow the movement of people and goods between the two countries.
“In particular, we agreed the following actions: Within the
shortest time possible, open two border posts at Dobley-Libol and
Mandera -Bulahawa, and to facilitate the movement of people, goods and
services," said the president.
President Kenyatta also said that Kenya will train 500 Somali
personnel as part of a wider campaign to enable the country to stand on
its feet after close to three decades of turmoil. The contingent will
comprise 200 teachers, 200 nurses and 100 administrators.
Amid growing calls locally to withdraw Kenya’s soldiers from
Somalia, where many of them have died, the president said that he was
working on a plan for a gradual reduction in troops starting next year.
“One immediate way in which we an do that is to scale up the efforts to strengthen the forces already in Somalia, as well as Somalia’s national security apparatus, so that we are all ready for the day when foreign support leaves the country,” he said.
“One immediate way in which we an do that is to scale up the efforts to strengthen the forces already in Somalia, as well as Somalia’s national security apparatus, so that we are all ready for the day when foreign support leaves the country,” he said.
Kenya contributes more than 3,500 troops to the Africa Union Mission in Somalia which is helping to tackle Al Shabaab.
The Somalia president expressed his appreciation for Kenya’s
“sacrifices on many fronts," and pledged a closer working relationship
with the country.
“Part of this will be to remove barriers to trade and enhance security in East Africa," said President Farmaajo.
The two leaders are attending a special Heads of State summit of
the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on March 24,
which is discussing durable solutions to the Somali refugee crisis.
No comments :
Post a Comment