By CYRUS OMBATI
President Uhuru Kenyatta leaving Djibouti to attend the Heads of State Summit of Troop Contributing Countries to (AMISOM). Photo:Court
President Uhuru Kenyatta has departed for Djibouti to attend a heads of state summit on Somalia.
The president departed from JKIA, Nairobi at 8 am to attend the Amisom’s meeting aimed at reviewing and revamping the mission’s operations in Somalia, working in-conjunction with the Federal Government of Somalia and Somali National Security Forces.
A ministerial meeting of the troop and police contributing countries to Amisom had taken place since Saturday.
The Special Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson in Somalia (SRCC) and Head of AMISOM Ambassador Francisco Caetano Madeira is attending the meeting alongside the Ag. AMISOM Force Commander Maj. General Mohammedesha Zeyinu and AMISOM Police Chief of Staff Rex Dundun.
Delegates at the meeting included representatives from the Federal Government of Somalia, the United Nations and Somalia’s key development partners.
The meeting discussed a report from the African Union Chairperson and the Military Operations Coordination Committee (MOCC) of AMISOM and make recommendations for revamped operations geared towards improving the security in Somalia and consolidating gains made.
“Despite the progress made, a lot more needs to be done for sustained peace in Somalia. We must work together to eliminate Al-Shabaab from Somalia and from the region. The political will is evident from this meeting and we need to double our efforts for total eradication of Al-Shabaab,” stated Djibouti Defence Minister Hassan Dharar Hufane in his address to the ministerial meeting.
Ambassador Madeira described the meeting as an important one in ensuring better coordinated, synchronized operations by AMISOM and its partners. He noted that all Troop Contributing Countries are in agreement on steps necessary to boost capacity for the Somali National Army.
Recommendations from the Ministerial Meeting will be presented to the Heads of State Summit for consideration on Sunday.
Source: Standard Digital