Kenya Opening an Embassy in Mogadishu

[Jacaylbaro]

Mogadishu 22, August.07 ( Sh.M.Network)-Kenyan ambassador to Somalia, Ken Visitia, has held a news conference in one of the hotels in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, on Wednesday amid grenade blasts rage in parts of the volatile city.

 

Explaining the Kenyan mission to neighboring Somalia, Visitia, stressed that his government was committed to cooperating with Somalia over the diverse areas in the country's construction, health, education and foreign affairs.

 

He is the second African ambassador to arrive and remain in the war torn Somalia for a while. Late last month, Ugandan special envoy to Horn of African country, was in the unstable capital, Mogadishu, elucidating Uganda's precise support to the UN backed Somali fragile government.

 

Mr. Visitia, who also mentioned that Kenya and of the rest of the African Union states will respect any conclusions from the country's reconciliation congress continuing in the capital. He said he was seeking for away Kenya could participate in the reconstruction of Somalia.

 

"We want to move beyond the peace conference, we want to talk about how do we cooperate with Somalia in areas of health and foreign affairs? How does Kenya assist the people of Somalia? That is my mandate here," he said.

 

He stated that within the next two weeks a delegation from the Kenyan government would land in Mogadishu to sign joint agreement with the T.F.G.

 

Speaking about the new Kenyan embassy to Somalia, he pointed out that it would assist Somalis and Kenyans in the country.

 

"We are aware that a lot of Kenyans are here as health workers and teachers. We want to open an embassy which can give visas," he said, promising that Somalis could travel to the rest of the world with Nairobi being as a transit point. "Somalis in the diasporas can travel through Kenya either they are going to Canada or U.K.," he said.

 

He said all those who renounce violence should attend the reconciliation process and speak freely about their grievances in it.

 

The Somalia's transitional government was formed in Kenya in late 2004 with Abdullahi Yusuf elected as the president, but the Islamic Courts Union that administered a swathe of southern regions of the country for six months opposed it, threatening to toppled the T.F.G. which was militarily backed by its Ethiopian ally.

 

The Islamists were ousted by the Ethiopian forces supporting the Somali government, enabling it to finally settle in Mogadishu where insurgency still rages.

 

Visitia says Kenya has its own ways of talking to the opposition groups in Asmara, Eritrea. He said most of them have businesses in Nairobi and the Kenyan diplomats had been trying to convince them to relinquish violence.

 

"Because violence will only breed violence because we don't believe that anybody can win now in Somalia through force," he said, encouraging parties to engage in peaceful dialog.

 

He mentioned that Kenya was considering opening its borders with Somalia, but security concerns still persist, he said.

 

Somalia has had no effective central government since 1991 when overthrew ousted former president, Siad Barre.