NAIROBI, Kenya

The new US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield, met Monday with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in the capital Nairobi. 

Following their deliberations, Kenya and the US agreed to continue engaging the conflicting parties in Ethiopia with the aim of seeing a speedy resolution to the conflict in the country, according to a statement issued by the presidency in Kenya.

Kenya has played a major role as a mediator in Horn of Africa conflicts, especially in South Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia.

Satterfield commended President Kenyatta for his committed efforts towards ending the conflict between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

“We believe that your role (in helping to end the Ethiopian conflict) was and remains extremely important. We appreciate the role Kenya has continued to play in the Horn of Africa region. We do look to your help and support in Ethiopia. We do not want the work you have done in that country to go to waste,” he said.

Kenyatta said Kenya and Ethiopia are good allies and noted that the internal conflict in the country should not be allowed to continue as it will erode the progress made.

“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,” he said.

Ethiopia has been embroiled in an internal war for over a year now which has claimed thousands of lives.

Besides the Ethiopian conflict, President Kenyatta and Ambassador Satterfield also discussed the peace and security situation in Sudan and Somalia at the meeting, which was also attended by Kenya’s Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua and Foreign Affairs Minister Raychelle Omamo among other senior government officials.