Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has intervened to secure deescalation of tensions between Kenya and Somali over a maritime boundary dispute.
Ahmed brought Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed to a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta, the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since the row erupted last month. The Somali President was on a visit to Ethiopia before the two flew into Nairobi late on Tuesday.
A statement from his office said the Ethiopian Prime Minister is paying special attention to reconciling the differences between Somalia and Kenya as the current chair of IGAD.
“During the official visit of President Kenyatta and Abdullahi Mohamed to Ethiopia, Prime Minister Abiy also hosted long consultations with each of the leaders to facilitate the first face to face discussion in a long time. It is expected that the mediated meeting between the two countries will ease tensions that have been building,” it added.
After the meeting, his office said the two had agreed to work towards peace.
“As an outcome both agreed to work towards peace & to take measures in addressing particular issues that escalated the tensions,” it said in a statement.
Last month, Kenya summoned its ambassador to Mogadishu Lt Gen (Rtd) Lucas Tumbo after Somali auctioned oil and gas exploration blocks located within a 100,000 square km stretch of sea floor that is claimed by both countries. It also sent away Somali Ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Nur.
Kenya insists the boundary runs parallel to the line of latitude and had already sold mining licenses to exploration companies in the area before Somali claimed the territory, which is believed to contain large deposits of oil and gas.
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The International Court of Justice in The Hague is handling the dispute after Somali launched a petition in 2014.
President Uhuru’s office is yet to issue a statement on the meeting.
