NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 21 — Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo on Monday hosted China’s Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Xue Bing for talks in Nairobi as the visiting diplomat sought to “consolidate the facts on the situation in the Horn of Africa in relation to peace and development.”
Talks between the two were anchored on regional peace and climate change, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
“The meeting discussed the need to infuse the climate change aspect into peace and stability engagements in order to build resilience and adaptability among communities,” the ministry said.
Xue was later scheduled to meet President Uhuru Kenyatta with whom he was expected to discuss pressing peace and security issues in the region.
The newly appointed Amb held similar talks with Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Macharia Kamau on Friday before hosting a news conference with reporters in Nairobi on Saturday.
Amb. Kamau commended China for making the appointment following an undertaking by the country’s Foreign Minister, Amb. Wang Yi, during a visit to Kenya in January.
“The Principal Secretary welcomed China’s move to appoint a special envoy to the horn of Africa noting the initiative is timely as it will add impetus to the efforts by various partners to find lasting solutions to the peace and security threats in the horn of Africa region,” the Foreign Office said in a note following the talks.
The ministry said Xue’s visit will “build on existing initiatives and efforts towards finding solutions to the challenges facing the region including conflict and displacements and climate variances that need humanitarian assistance.”
As part of his initial engagement in the region, Xue announced plans to host an inaugural peace summit in the course of the year with Kenya and Ethiopia having expressed interest in hosting the forum.
“My first priority here is to seek more comments and suggestions about China’s proposal and I encourage the regional countries to come together very quickly for the first peace conference,” Xue told reporters on Saturday.
By Fred Odanga Azelwa.