Joe Biden, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta bat for peaceful resolution of Ethiopian crisis
US President Joe Biden on Thursday, 14 October, hosted Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to address the “strong” US-Kenyan partnership, the White House informed.
- World News
- 2 min read
US President Joe Biden on Thursday, 14 October, hosted Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to address the “strong” US-Kenyan partnership. According to a press release, during their first one-on-one, in-person meeting, Biden and Kenyatta underscored the need to bring additional transparency and accountability to domestic and international financial systems and advance peaceful resolutions to the conflicts in Somalia and Ethiopia. The two leaders also discussed their shared commitment to defending democracy and human rights, advancing regional peace and security and accelerating economic prosperity.
A White House press note read, “Together they (Biden and Kenyatta) discussed their shared commitment to defending democracy and human rights, advancing regional peace and security, and accelerating economic prosperity through climate-smart solutions and the use of renewable energy resources.”
It added, “Together, President Biden and President Kenyatta underscored the need to bring additional transparency and accountability to domestic and international financial systems and to advance peaceful resolutions to the conflicts in Somalia and Ethiopia.”
It was an honor to welcome President Kenyatta to the White House this afternoon. The U.S.-Kenya strategic partnership is essential to addressing key regional and global challenges — and I'm committed to further elevating our ties with Kenya and nations across Africa as a whole. pic.twitter.com/3Fn9po4yY8
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 14, 2021
Further, as per the press release, the two leaders also discussed greater cooperation on vaccine manufacturing and production on the African continent in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing the future health security threats. Additionally, Biden announced a donation of over 17 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the African Union. It is to mention that Kenya has already received 2.8 million vaccines and is also slated to get additional Pfizer doses in the next few months as part of the pledge Biden made at the G7 to donate 500 million vaccine doses globally.
Kenya seeks to counter terrorism with US cooperation
Meanwhile, it is to mention that the meeting between Biden and Kenyatta comes amid the conflict in Ethiopia with the military launching the offensive on all fronts against the forces in northern Tigray. Kenya shares the border with Ethiopia and is partnering with the US to ramp up efforts to thwart Islamic terrorism. Kenya, which holds the rotational UN Security Council (UNSC) chair currently, has been openly vocal about the Tigray-Ethiopia conflict.
Kenya has urged for an immediate “political resolution” to the Ethiopian war, stressing that there was no military solution as such. The US President, on the other hand, had threatened to sign an executive order that would levy sanctions against Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed for reviving the 11-month long conflict in the region.