Kenya and the US have reaffirmed their mutual commitment to strengthen bilateral ties and existing cooperation amid sweeping foreign policy changes.
This is after president Donald Trump administration announced various measures that are affecting many operations.
President William Ruto had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday February 6 where they discussed Haiti and DRC crisis.
“We reviewed bilateral relations between Kenya and the US and reaffirmed our mutual commitment to strengthening our existing cooperation,” Ruto said in a social media post.
“Our discussion confirmed that the United States has specifically exempted its support for the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti from the broader pause on federal assistance, recognising the critical need to sustain momentum for the mission and its role in stabilising Haiti and restoring order,” Ruto added.
Rubio said separately he spoke with Ruto to thank him for Kenya’s leadership of the Multinational Security Support mission to Haiti, which remains fully operational, and Kenya’s role in promoting peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Reports on Wednesday had indicated that the US government had ordered an immediate stop to its financial contribution to the MMS for Haiti following Trump’s recent executive order suspending US humanitarian aid for 90 days to reassess spending.
The reports said the United Nations had confirmed receiving an official notification from the Trump administration to freeze its pledged support amounting to US$13.3 million, being part of the initial $15 million it had committed to the mission’s trust fund.
Rubio’s confirmation of the exemption of the Haiti mission from aid freeze comes on the same day Kenya dispatched a fresh batch of 144 police officers to Haiti to supplement efforts of an earlier force of 600 officers deployed to battle gang violence in Haiti.
Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen, who saw off the officers Thursday morning, said the troops comprise 120 men and 24 female officers.
He said the other countries, notably Guatemala and El Salvador, have in recent weeks deployed additional officers.
“Together with Jamaican and Belizean troops and supported by Haitian police, we’re making concerted efforts to establish order,” Murkomen said on X.
He added that Kenya is in constant contact with the UN and countries supporting the mission, including the US, whose support in equipment and funding has been invaluable and unwavering.
Ruto said during his phone conversation with Rubio, they also discussed regional peace and security in Africa, particularly the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
He said the talks touched on the upcoming joint meeting between the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC), scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Presidents Samia Suluhu (Tanzania), Felix Tshisekedi (DRC), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), and Hassan Mohamud of Somalia confirmed participation at the extra-ordinary summit.
The summit was convened by Ruto in his capacity as the EAC chairperson in response to the renewed fighting in DRC’s eastern part in North Kivu where M23 rebels have laid siege to the lakeside city of Goma and displaced thousands of families.
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