By ALEX NDEGWA
KENYA: The United Kingdom (UK) has invited President Uhuru Kenyatta for an official visit to London on Tuesday over the situation in neighbouring Somalia. The conference will discuss the situation in the troubled Horn of Africa nation, plagued by civil war since 1991.
An official statement by the UK indicates High Commissioner Christian Turner delivered to President Uhuru a letter of invitation to the Somalia Conference in London.
Dr Turner met the Head of State at State House, Nairobi, on Tuesday evening. The conference aims to provide international support for the Somali government as they rebuild the country after two decades of conflict.
Role on Somalia
Kenya plays a vital role on Somalia, having nearly 5,000 troops there, and hosting more Somali refugees than any other nation.
On Friday, President Uhuru reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to the search for peace and stability in Somalia in an address during the 21st Extra-Ordinary Summit of IGAD Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting, he said, came at a critical moment in the reconstruction of Somalia and took place ahead of the London Conference on Somalia on Tuesday.
“The recent positive political and security developments in Somalia have opened a window of opportunity for lasting peace in Somalia. Somalia is on course, now more than ever, of stabilising and realising lasting peace,” he said.
Other international meetings on Somalia affairs are scheduled in Tokyo at the end of the month, Brussels in September and the proposed Conference on Somali refugees to be co-chaired by Kenya and Somalia.
President Uhuru said Al Shabaab remains a major threat to Somalia and regional stability.
