President Uhuru Kenyatta met Somalia Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble Tuesday during his visit to Kenya as part of a strategy to normalize ties after months of diplomatic tensions between the two countries
Roble arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Nairobi on Tuesday and was received by Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo before he flew to Mombasa to meet the president
The PM’s arrival follows a recent visit to Somalia by Omamo in which the two sides committed to re-energize ties.
A statement from the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said Omamo and her Somalia counterpart Mohamed Abdirazak agreed to welcome the return of their respective ambassadors to their diplomatic stations in Nairobi and Mogadishu.
“This is a pointer to the commitment of opening a new chapter in the bilateral relations to correspond with aspirations of both governments and the people of the two neighboring countries,” part of the statement states.
The two further committed to work with the international community to promote peace and security within the horn of Africa region and beyond.
“The ministers also noted the threat posed by terrorism, extremism and other organized transnational crimes and welcomed regional and international efforts to eradicate these vices,” the statement read.
In December last year, Somalia announced it was severing diplomatic ties with Kenya, accusing Nairobi of “recurring” interference in its political affairs as Mogadishu prepared long-awaited 2021 elections which were conducted in May.
The move came after Kenya hosted the leadership of Somaliland, a breakaway state not recognized by Mogadishu, following months of tensions between the two neighbors.
Information Minister Osman Abukar Dubbe told reporters that Kenyan diplomats in Mogadishu had been given seven days to leave and that Somalia’s envoys were being recalled from Nairobi.
1/3 President Uhuru Kenyatta and visiting Somalia Prime Minister @MohamedHRoble on Tuesday led their respective delegations in bilateral talks at State House, Mombasa. pic.twitter.com/1ZUozyxwrl
— State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) August 10, 2021
2/2 “Prosperity of our people is key. Let us open a new page for our people by encouraging people-to-people and interactions,” President Kenyatta said.
Read more: https://t.co/lrnF5IVtdy pic.twitter.com/g5KE7PhMkg
— State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) August 10, 2021
But in May this year, the two countries began the journey of normalizing diplomatic relations which were further affected by a maritime border dispute.
The two countries had been engaged in a long-running territorial dispute over a stretch of the Indian Ocean claimed by both nations believed to hold valuable deposits of oil and gas.
The row over which nation controls access to the lucrative deposits escalated in early 2019 after Somalia decided to auction off oil and gas blocks in a disputed maritime area, prompting Kenya to recall its ambassador from Mogadishu in February of that year.
