Somalia and Kenya Presidents Signs Trade Deals

The presidents of Somalia and Kenya have signed a range of deals including one to restart trade in both countries.

The Foreign Ministers in a joint statement said, in a sign of improving diplomatic relations, Somalia’s leader, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, signed deals with his counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi during his first official trip to Kenya’s capital since winning the presidency in May.

Deals
According to the statement, the Presidents agreed to restart flights by Kenya’s national carrier Kenya Airways, KQNA to Mogadishu, resume the khat trade from Kenya to Somalia, ease some visa restrictions, and re-open the border.

The leaders agreed to work together with regional and international aid bodies to help mitigate the impact of the drought and coordinate efforts in the “fight against terrorism.”

The two neighbours are together battling an al-Qaida-linked insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians in the last decade.

However, their relationship has been turbulent because of a dispute over the ownership of potential offshore oil and gas deposits, some of which United Nations lie off their disputed maritime border.

In October last year, the United Nation’s International Court of Justice decided largely in favour of Somalia’s claim, a ruling which Kenya rejected, saying it did not recognise the findings in the decision.

REUTERS/CO