The U.S. State Department Bureau of African Affairs said the U.S. welcomes “the appointment of Uhuru Kenyatta as peace envoy for the conflict in Northern Ethiopia and in Eastern DRC.”
Kenya’s President William Ruto said during his inauguration on Tuesday 13 September that he has appointed outgoing President Kenyatta to “continue chairing …discussions on behalf of the people of Kenya on “the peace initiatives in our region, including both in Ethiopia & in the Great Lakes region.” President William pledged the support of “the government of Kenya and myself in particular” to the initiatives, adding that former President Kenyatta has agreed with the appointment “graciously.”
The State Department Bureau of African Affairs said this was “a critical time for both conflicts” and that Kenyatta’s “work will be crucial.”
Shortly before the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Kenya in November 2021, former President Kenyatta arrived in Addis Abeba on 14 November and was received by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed “to his second home.” He has also met with President Sahle-Work Zewde.
In Nairobi, Kenyatta and Secretary Blinken discussed “shared interests as members of the U.N. Security Council, including addressing regional security issues, such as Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan,” according to State Department.
Two month later in January this year, former President Kenyatta met with then US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield in Nairobi during which the two called for a peaceful resolution to Ethiopia’s civil war. “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,” Kenyatta said.
In May this year, PM Abiy and Kenyatta have also met on the side of the AU Extraordinary Humanitarian Summit in Malabo Equatorial Guinea, where they discussed “bilateral issues of peace and development.”
