The government of Kenya has opened its Liaison Office in Somaliland.
The Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday said four officers were already deployed in the Liaison office in Hargeisa.
In an official letter, the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs addressed to the Liaison Office of Somaliland in Nairobi on Thursday, Benson M. Mawliko is appointed as the head of the Kenyan Mission in Somaliland, alongside Charles Waichari (second counselor), Grace Musau (Administrative Attaché) and Ronald Nyakweba (Administrative Attaché).
The appointment communication letter was marked MFA/CONF/REP/130 Vol. 1(5), carrying the official seal of the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The Ministry further wishes to inform that four (4) officers were deployed to the Kenya Liaison office in Somaliland. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kenya avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the liaison Office of Somaliland in Nairobi the assurances of its highest consideration,” Kenyan Foreign Ministry said.
We are proud to announce our official representatives to the Kenyan consulate in #Somaliland, led by the very able Benson Mwakilo.
This formalizes the #KenyaSomalilandRelations and we look forward to building on and strengthening ties between our two brotherly nations. pic.twitter.com/tRVv7HLAyt
— Kenya Liaison (@kenya_Liaison) September 6, 2021
As they say, GOOD things take TIME. The historic moment is here as #Kenya prepares to open her consulate in #Hargeisa.
The consulate will ease access to services for the many Kenyans in #Somaliland, not to mention the boost it offers in forging relations between our two nations. pic.twitter.com/ALXR2gn7GF— Kenya Liaison (@kenya_Liaison) September 2, 2021
A delegation, including members of the above diplomats, had been in Somaliland of late finalizing the final set up of the Mission in Hargeisa.
The establishment of the Kenyan Liaison office in Somaliland follows a relatively extensive bilateral understanding of the two presidents of the two East African democracies reached in Nairobi in December 2020.
In February this year, a strong delegation from Somaliland held discussions with the Kenya Head of Public Service in Nairobi as efforts to solidify diplomatic relations between the two countries went a notch higher.
The Somaliland delegation among them Ministers of National Planning and Finance, Mr. Hassan Gafadhi and Dr. Saad Ali Shire met with Kenya’s head of civil Service Joseph Kinyua in what they said was the second round of talks ahead of the opening of a Kenyan consulate in Somaliland capital Hargeisa and introduction of direct flights from Nairobi.
The team said the talks centered on the memorandum of understanding signed between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Somaliland counterpart Muse Bihi in December last year when the latter made an official visit to Kenya.
The Kenyan office joins a growing number of Representative and Liaison offices in Hargeisa that include Taiwan, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Djibouti.
