Kenya and the United Nations (UN) agreed to reset their differences caused by a dispute over military deployment in South Sudan.
The deal to reset relations was reached at a bilateral meeting between president Uhuru Kenyatta and the new UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
''The meeting, the first in a series of meetings between the UN chief and African leaders, focused on peacekeeping, peace and security, with focus on Kenya’s role, as well as events in South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia and Burundi,'' said PSCU.
Guterres said he wanted to see UN reconciled with Kenya, for Kenya was a very important player in the region.
''Let us make a fresh start. I feel that we have to work together to secure peace and security. Let us put the past behind us,'' he said.
He noted UN had full confidence in Kenya’s military.
"As a sign of our confidence in the Kenya Defence Forces, and in the Kenyan government, the UN would like to offer Kenya the Darfur command,'' Guterres added during the Opening of the 28th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and government of the African Union, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Kenyatta agreed to a reset in the relations, and would look forward to senior officials from both sides meeting in Addis Ababa to work out details of the new arrangements.
Kenya withdrew its troops from a UN mission in South Sudan, 2016, after its mission commander was withdrawn without consultation with the Kenyan leadership.