Peace, stability top agenda as Eritrea leader visits Kenya

By JEREMIAH WAKAYA, NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 15 – Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki is in Kenya for a two-day State visit.

The leader was received at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma on Friday.

During his official visit, Afwerki is scheduled to hold talks with his host President Uhuru Kenyatta on regional peace and stability.

Afwerki’s visit to Kenya is the second during President Kenyatta’s presidency.

During his first State visit to Kenya in 2013, Afwerki attended the Golden Jubilee celebrations in Nairobi ending years of speculation over deteriorating relations between the two nations.

Diplomatic relations between Eritrea and Kenya faced difficulties in 2011 after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Asmara of supplying arms to Al-Shabaab terrorists, an accusation the northeast African nation denied.

The two nations maintain trade ties through the Intergovernmental Authority on Development trading bloc comprising eight countries including Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda.

The Eritrean embassy in Nairobi is among 128 foreign missions based in the country.

Kenya is however yet to establish a mission in Asmara with diplomatic and consular services offered through the Kenyan embassy in Cairo.