Kenya has reiterated her commitment to continue working with the federal government of Somalia despite the current turbulence that threatens relationship between the two.
Somalia last week maintained that the Indian Ocean maritime dispute must be solved by the International Court of Justice despite President Uhuru Kenyatta's calls to have it solved through negotiations.
The court has scheduled November 6th to 8th for hearings, even though Kenya is still upbeat that an out of court settlement is still achievable despite President Mohamed Farmaajo's stand.
At Mogadishu on Wednesday, Foreign Affairs CAS Ababu Namwamba maintained that Kenya is keen to see the two countries relate well amid standoff.
“Kenya has always supported reconstruction of Somalia, with the 1st Transitional Government of Abdullahi Yusuf (Ahmed) made and hosted in Nairobi in 2004. The commitment remains,” he said referring to Somalia’s first Transitional President who died in 2012.
“Somalia ties are steeped in a history of shared destiny. We owe it to our people to keep the ties alive.”
Before attending Somalia Partnership Forum, Namwamba held talks with Somalia Prime Minister Hassan Ali where they discussed bilateral relationship between the two nations.
At the forum, he was among several dozens of political leaders, business people and diplomats who gathered in Mogadishu for the fourth Somalia Partnership Forum (SPF), meant to “to take stock of the progress made by the country as well as agree on priorities ahead,” according to organisers.
Somalia may have risen recently, benefiting from donors and its diaspora.
But participants warned the challenges, such as the recent resurgence of Shabaab attacks and continuing political tensions between the federal government and the federal state authorities, could undermine plan for universal suffrage elections in 2021.
“We are under no illusion to underestimate the myriad of challenges ahead for the country's road to full recovery, which demands concerted political and financial commitments from both local stakeholders and international partners,” James Swan, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative to Somalia said.