Joe Biden arrives in Kenya to discuss Somaliland elections

[Jacaylbaro]

NAIROBI (Somalilandpress) — United States Vice President, Joe Biden arrived in the Kenyan capital on Monday evening to start his three-day official to the East African nation.

 

Mr Biden and his delegation, which included his family were received at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport by the Kenyan Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and US Ambassador to Kenya Michael E. Ranneberger, shortly after 8:00 pm local east African time.

 

The Vice President is expected to hold talks with President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on regional affairs as well as Kenya-U.S. relations. Some of the issues the three leaders will discuss include the new proposed Kenyan constitution that will adopted if it passes the referendum vote on August 4th.

 

The new constitution calls for less executive powers for the president, improving courts and the law enforcing bodies as well as bringing the perpetrators of the election violence that rocked the country in December 2007 to justice. The deadly violence left more than 1500 Kenyans dead.

 

Other issues include economic trade ties between Kenya and the United States, security, stability in neighbouring Somalia and the elections in Somaliland. The U.S. is one of the forerunners of the main financiers of the elections in Somaliland.

 

A number of senior Kenyan politicians support Somaliland’s pursue of international recognition and there are reports the Kenyan parliament is waiting for a motion calling on the recognition of Somaliland. However a number of leaders including the foreign minister Moses Wetangula and President Mwai Kibaki are opposed to the proposal while Prime Minister Raila Odinga support the motion.

 

Mr Biden is also scheduled to address the Kenyan parliament on Kenya-U.S. ties, meet with Southern Sudanese President Salva Kiir and speak with members of Kenya’s Somali population about Somalia’s peace development.

[Jacaylbaro]

Other issues include economic trade ties between Kenya and the United States, security, stability in neighbouring Somalia and the elections in Somaliland. The U.S. is one of the forerunners of the main financiers of the elections in Somaliland.

[A_Khadar]

Originally posted by Jacaylbaro:

quote: Other issues include economic trade ties between Kenya and the United States, security, stability in neighbouring Somalia and

the elections in Somaliland.

The U.S. is one of the forerunners of the main financiers of the elections in Somaliland.

War waad ka darteen yaa successionsts.

 

Biden in Kenya for Somalia, Sudan

 

As ethnic violence flares in east Africa, US Vice President Joe Biden has arrived in Kenya for talks about the situation in Somalia and Sudan.

 

The US official was welcomed at the Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta Airport by his Kenyan counterpart Kalonzo Musyoka on Tuesday, a Press TV correspondent reported.

 

Biden is scheduled to meet Kenyan coalition partners President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga today.

 

Kenya is Washington's chief ally in the east African region.

 

"In addition to discussing a range of bilateral issues, the vice president will address our shared interests in peace and stability in the region, particularly in Sudan and Somalia," a White House statement said.

 

The visit comes as large swathes of Somalia is now under control of al-Shabab fighters who have been locked in more intense battles against the government troops in recent months.

 

Biden's first stop was Egypt, where he held talks with senior officials about the blockade of the Gaza Strip following Israel's bloody attack on an aid convoy bound for the besieged enclave that left 20 human rights activists dead and 50 others wounded.

 

His last stop is South Africa where he is due to arrive on Wednesday.

source

[A_Khadar]

US Vice President Biden Visiting Kenya

 

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is to discuss security issues and bilateral relations during a three-day visit to Kenya. The Kenya visit is the second-leg of Biden's three-stop African tour.

 

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is visiting at a time the strength of the U.S.-Kenya partnership is finding itself under increasing scrutiny.

 

Washington has been one of the foremost voices in urging Kenya to implement key political reforms promised after the country's 2008 post-election violence.

 

Vice President Biden is expected to speak at length with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on the progress of the country's proposed new constitution. Washington has urged Kenyans to participate in the forthcoming referendum on the document.

 

Experts say certain Kenyan politicians are unhappy at the amount of pressure Washington has placed on the government to deliver reforms.

 

Speaking to VOA, Nairobi political analyst Harun Ndubi says Mr. Biden's visit is a sign the White House believes at least some progress has been made.

 

"It has not quite an approval of the delivery on the new constitution, but its kind of a friendly nudge that we are making steps in the right direction in terms of the delivery of various items, and the constitution particularly," said Ndubi.

 

Political and economic reforms were part of the agreement signed by President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga, which brought an end to the post election violence that killed more than 1,000 people following the 2007 presidential poll.

 

Ndubi says the apparent strain on political ties with Washington has the potential to push Kenya to seek closer relations with other countries. By increasing commerce with China and other eastern states, analysts says Kenya could be reacting to political pressure from its ally. Biden's visit, Ndubi says, could be a way of reassuring Kenyan leaders of America's support.

 

"The other day our president went to China and came back with $36 million [three billion shillings], if Kenya was left to feel like the relationship [with America] is so bad that even our own son cannot have a close relationship with us, we might look for new friends," he said. "And that is why Biden's visit to Kenya might just be a reassurance that America is not disregarding Kenya irrespective of the delivery of the reform agenda," said Ndubi.

 

Kenya is a strategically important Western ally viewed as a nation of relative stability in the midst of increasingly troubled neighbors. The Kenyan government is expected to seek more engagement with the United States on tackling the multitude of problems presented by neighboring Somalia.

 

Kenya says al-Shabab, the most powerful of the hard-line Islamic groups operating in Somalia, should not be given further opportunities to influence Muslim populations in Kenya and other parts of East Africa.

 

Kenya is one of two countries prosecuting pirates that operate off the coast of Somalia and further into the Indian Ocean. Despite reassurances from the the European Union it would receive more international help in dealing with pirates, Nairobi is expected to ask Biden for further cooperation from the United States.

 

U.S. President Barack Obama says he plans to make his first official visit to Kenya, the country that sees him as a son, before his term ends. Analysts say Biden's visit is a sign of the president's continuing commitment to the East African country, but that Mr. Obama wants to see the constitutional reform process completed before he visits.

 

source

[A_Khadar]

Lol.. Mind/heart readers.. Now you are insisting that your assumptions and wishes are read from between the lines and they are the real deal and talks between the two leaders yet it's no where officially in the agenda except somalilandpress.com. And here you're trying to sell it to us..

 

Waa idinka taala nimanyahow runtii Alle ha idiin sahlo.

[xiinfaniin]

Oodka, good that you are finally coming into grips the hard truth that is before you. Those discussions are SOMALI discussion, and Somaliland in the eyes of the world is part of Somalia. In your last post you made that unfavorable reality a bit palatable…tell the Love Teacher to change the title of this post to reflect it.