By Kwanta Douglas –
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday said there should be urgency in resolving the Ethiopian conflict in Tigray to allow Addis Ababa and neighbours to concentrate on rebuilding their economies.
Speaking in Nairobi, President Kenyatta said Kenya’s key infrastructure plans depend on Ethiopia’s peace. The head of state cited the telecom venture from Nairobi into Ethiopia as one key area that will depend on a stable Ethiopia to be rolled out.
In a dispatch from State House, President Kenyatta said the two countries have in the past been working on joint projects and warned that conflict could likely drag those targets.
“A strong Ethiopia is important to us. A stable Ethiopia is important to us. That is why we are committed to doing all we can to see the conflict resolved,” President Kenyatta said after hosting visiting US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa David Satterfield.
Mr Satterfield, who reported on duty earlier than planned, has been touring the region to seek a solution to two crises in Sudan and Ethiopia.
For Kenya though, it is the Ethiopian conflict that is more critical. Kenyan telco Safaricom recently won a licence to invest in Ethiopia but its roll out has been slowed down by the conflict.