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Somaliland President Musa Bihi Abdi is expected to hold talks with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta at the Nairobi Government House on Monday, December 14.
In what is expected to change the dynamics in Horn of Africa politics, Bihi is looking to Kenya to defend Somaliland’s push for international recognition.
Bihi arrived in Nairobi on Sunday afternoon accompanied by several ministers from his government and was received by Kenyan Agriculture Minister Peter Munya, accompanied by Administrative Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ababu Namwamba.
This is the first time that a sitting Somaliland president has made a state visit to Kenya.
Somaliland, like Kenya, was a British protectorate before gaining its independence in 1960. The country later merged with Somalia, a former Italian colony, but the union was broken in 1991 after the start of the civil war in Somalia.
Since then, Somaliland has unsuccessfully pushed for international recognition.
Somaliland’s envoy to Kenya, Bashe Omar, said President Bihi’s visit to Kenya will be vital as the two countries strengthen their good relations.
“Kenya is very important to Somaliland, especially in trade and social development,” Bashe said.
“We (as Somaliland) are very excited about this state visit by our president because it is a historic visit. We hope that Kenya will be our partner in pushing for international recognition, ”he added.
President Bihi has made a similar visit to Guinea, where he was granted a state reception.
However, this did not sit well with Somalia, which accused Guinea of interfering in the country’s internal affairs.
Somalia has maintained that Somaliland remains part of its regions.
However, Somaliland, unlike Somalia, enjoys relative peace, has its own democratically elected government, has an army and its own currency.
Kenya and Somalia are embroiled in a bitter dispute, with the latter accusing Kenya of participating in its internal affairs.
