Kenyan and Somali presidents William Ruto and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud discussed bilateral relations and other issues in Nairobi on Thursday amid regional tensions over a deal between Ethiopia and Somaliland, their offices said.
The Somali presidency said the two leaders “discussed ways and means to expand close partnership on a wide range of issues, including further developing bilateral economic and security ties to the benefit of both the people of Somalia and Kenya”.
Mohamud said on X that he and Ruto “reaffirmed our strong Somalia-Kenya partnership in critical areas, including economy, security and people-to-people relations, for the benefit of our citizens”.
“We are committed to working towards regional peace, stability and development guided by our shared values,” he added.
For his part, Ruto said Kenya was “glad that stability in Somalia is creating a favourable environment for trade between the two countries”.
He added that discussions between him and Mohamud touched on “trade, peace and security in the region”.
The Somali president was in Nairobi to attend a United Nations environmental summit in which several other heads of state were expected to participate.
His meeting with Ruto came hours after Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in the Kenyan capital on a state visit.
Ruto said “longstanding relations between Kenya and Ethiopia is the bedrock of our shared prosperity and regional stability”.
Row over Somaliland agreement
The visits and meetings came amid concerns of a conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia sparked by an agreement Addis Ababa signed with Somaliland earlier this year.
The deal, rejected by Somalia as an attempted annexation of part of its territory, gives Ethiopia a nval base along Somaliland’s coast.
In return, Ethiopia agreed to recognize Somaliland as a sovereign country, incensing Somalia.
Somaliland, which neighbours Ethiopia, declared independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991, but is not recognized by any nation.
Mogadishu has vowed to defend itself by whatever means it can should landlocked Ethiopia go ahead with the Somaliland pact.
It was not clear whether Abiy and Mohamud would meet in Nairobi as speculated on social media to try to defuse tensions between their two Horn of Africa neighbours.
