Xinhua
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
President Mwai Kibaki, who held talks with visiting Russian Special Representative to Africa Mikhail Margelov on Tuesday, said the re-hatting issue had been recommended by regional countries and the Africa Union.
"The President and Margelov called on the UN Security Council to fast-track the re-hatting of the Kenya Defense Force into AMISOM as recommended by IGAD and the African Union," the two leaders said according to a statement issued in Nairobi after the meeting.
During the meeting, President Kibaki and Margelov discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest to Kenya and Russia.
The President whose country send
troops to Somalia in October last year briefed the
Russian special representative on the progress of
Kenya’s military engagement in Somalia under
operation "Linda Nchi".
The two leaders agreed on the need
to stabilize Somalia and urged the international
community to facilitate the repatriation of Somali
refugees to sanitized areas within Somalia.
"President Kibaki and
Margelov expressed hope that the forthcoming
London conference on Somalia will discuss and come
up with a lasting solution that will be acceptable
to the people of Somalia and the wider Horn of
Africa region," they said.
The East African nation has argued
that under AMISOM, it will secure regional backing
and ensure the war is well managed under the African
Union.
Currently, AMISOM’s mandate
restricts it to operate only in Mogadishu as a
peace-keeping force where it is providing security
to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) led
by President Sheikh Ahmed Sharif.
Uganda and Burundi are the only
countries that have contributed troops to the
force.
Kenya is currently engaged in the fight against the militia group in southern Somalia where it has been registering impressive gains and extending humanitarian assistance to the local population.
Regional analysts say the impending arrival of reinforcements especially from Djibouti, along with a coalition of clan militia and transitional government troops, is expected to allow the Somali government to gradually expand the territory it holds.
Ethiopian troops pulled out of Somalia in 2009 after staying on the ground for two years to dislodge a coalition of Islamist rulers who had taken control of Mogadishu.
The AMISOM troops, currently
numbering 9,000, are expected to receive a boost
from Djibouti, whose plan to deploy inside Somalia
has constantly been postponed since 2009.
Meanwhile, president Kibaki also
invited Russia to consider investing in the Kenyan
manufacturing and infrastructure sectors
especially the construction of a standard gauge
railway line and expansion of the country’s road
network.
President Kibaki said Kenya and Russia should also collaborate in the prospecting for oil and boosting other energy sources in the country.
Margelov, who is also the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Russian Upper House, reassured President Kibaki of his country’s support to Kenya at the international level.
He emphasized that Russia supports the finding of African solutions to the challenges facing Africa.