Kwabe Victor
President
Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday attended the inauguration of Somali President Hassan
Sheikh Mohamud, exuding confidence that Kenya and Somalia will work together in
promoting regional peace and stability.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony held in Mogadishu, President
Kenyatta said Kenya desires to consolidate and forge closer relations for the
good neighbourliness, socio-economic cooperation and regional stability which
is in the best interest of the people of the two countries.
Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta, incoming
Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, outgoing President Mohamed
Farmaajo, Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed and Djibouti leader Omar Ismael Guelleh. [Twitter/
State House]
“Indeed, Kenya recognizes that our stability and economic wellbeing are
dependent on the stability and economic wellbeing of Somalia and the region.”Comments President Uhuru.
“A peaceful and prosperous Federal Republic of Somalia is the dream of
every Kenyan. Your brothers and sisters in Kenya look forward to working with
you so that we can all benefit economically and prosper together,” President
Kenyatta said as he congratulated President Mohamud.
President Kenyatta commended President Mohamud, who he said has worked
with before, for his dedication and commitment to peace and stability.
“I am confident that working together, we shall succeed in delivering
our dream of a peaceful, prosperous Federal Republic of Somalia, a peaceful and
prosperous Kenya, and a peaceful and a prosperous region,” President Kenyatta
said.
The Head of State welcomed the peaceful transition of power, affirming
Kenya’s commitment to collaborating and supporting the newly inaugurated Somali
President as he champions the development agenda of the Federal Republic of
Somalia.
The inauguration ceremony was also attended by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister
Abiy Ahmed and Djibouti President Omar Ismael Guelleh while other countries
including Uganda, Egypt, and South Sudan sent high-powered delegations.
President Kenyatta was accompanied by Cabinet Secretaries Peter Munya (Agriculture)
and Eugene Wamalwa (Defence).
Local khat [Miraa] traders are also set to resume exporting the
commodity to Somali after the lifting of a two-year ban which saw them lose out
on earnings.
This was revealed by Agriculture CS Peter Munya who accompanied the
president to Somalia.
He announced that the country’s new president Hassan Mohamud agreed to
lift the ban on miraa imports from Kenya.
CS Munya also revealed that negotiations have been finalized and what is
remaining is the signing of a deal which is set to take place in the next two
weeks, a move that will see the resumption of the Miraa trade between the two
countries.
Former Somali President Mohammed Farmaajo suspended Miraa imports from
Kenya two years ago citing COVID-19 restrictions.
This was also bounded by the diplomatic raw that saw both countries
recalling their special envoys back home.
