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Nairobi – The Chief Foreign Secretary, Ambassador Macharia Kamau, was in Mogadishu, Somalia on Saturday, where he led a delegation for talks on bilateral relations.
The Foreign Ministry said the three-day visit was aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries, including trade, investment and regional cooperation.
“Kenyans and Somalis should focus more on increasing trade and commerce, rather than political issues,” Amb. Kamau said citing the abundance of fish in Somalia.
On its first day, the PS held talks with its counterpart, Ambassador Mohamed Ali Nur Hagi, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Federal Republic of Somalia, where the two nations pledged to strengthen their trade relations.
Ambassador Kamau said that in addition to importing Khat, Somalia can import rice, avocado, beans, cement and steel from Kenya and other agricultural and construction products that would enhance wealth creation and development.
However, he stressed that the prosperity and development of both countries would come much faster with a peaceful and stable Somalia.
He pointed out that Kenya and Somalia are neighbors, a situation that cannot be changed and insisted that the two countries must find ways of coexistence in harmony for the benefit of their peoples.
On the sidelines of their meeting, Ambassador Kamau also met with British and European Union envoys at the Kenyan Embassy compound, where they discussed the security situation in Somalia and the role of the African Union Mission in Somalia. (AMISOM).
During the meeting, Ambassador Kamau was also briefed on the challenges faced by AMISOM and the inability of Somali forces to seize the areas that AMISOM has liberated.
For his part, Ambassador Mohamed Nur added that the two countries have good bilateral relations and should continue to seek solutions to emerging problems through bilateral talks.
He specifically thanked Kenya for having signed a trade agreement with the Somalia Chamber of Commerce that needs to be further improved.
