UK visit strengthens Defence relationship with Kenya
The UK’s Defence relationship with Kenya has been strengthened and UK support to Somalia boosted after a visit by the Armed Forces Minister.
Armed Forces Minister Penny Mordaunt during her visit to Kenya. Crown Copyright
During the Kenyan leg of her visit, Armed Forces Minister Penny Mordaunt met with the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Defence, Raychelle Omamo, to discuss the UK and Kenya’s long-standing Defence relationship, and the pair spoke with influential women working in the Kenyan security sector.
The Minister also met personnel from the High Commission Defence Section, British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) and British Peace Support Team East Africa, was able to see first-hand the scope and scale of UK military activity in Kenya, meet with families of BATUK personnel, and visit the International Peace Support Training Centre.
Armed Forces Minister Penny Mordaunt said:
I am pleased to visit Kenya where the UK carries out important capacity building work with both Kenyan and regional forces, critical operational readiness training for our own Armed Forces and is committed to support local communities in the areas in which it trains.
The UK shares a long-standing and mutually beneficial Defence relationship with Kenya, we are bound together by a wide range of shared interests and this is more important now than ever given Kenya’s commitment to the AMISOM mission in Somalia and its fight against terrorism in the region.
Armed Forces Minister Penny Mordaunt during her visit to Kenya. Crown Copyright
The Minister’s visit follows the signing of the Defence Cooperation Agreement between the UK and Kenya at the end of last year, which will confirm the UK’s ability to continue to operate in Kenya and provide the basis for developing the UK/Kenya Defence relationship further.
During the Somali leg of her visit the Minister announced an additional contribution of over £3m from the UK Government to the UN Somali National Army Trust Fund, which will help pay for essential resources, including rations, fuel and medical supplies.
The Minister met with Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke; Defence Minister General Abdulkadir Sheikh Ali (Diini); Internal Security Minister Abdirizak Omar Mohamed; the Chief of Defence Forces Major General Mohammed Aden Ahmed; the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Somalia Michael Keating;and, the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia Francisco Madeira.
Armed Forces Minister Penny Mordaunt said:
I am delighted to announce the UK’s further donation of over £3m to the Trust Fund, which will support the SNA in its fight to defeat Al Shabaab. This demonstrates our commitment to the SNA, and to building the foundations of lasting security in Somalia more widely.