Kibaki to attend London conference on Somalia

President Kibaki is on Tuesday scheduled to make a three day official visit to the United Kingdom to attend the London Conference on Somalia.

The plane carrying President Kibaki and his delegation will depart Jomo Kenyatta International Airport shortly after 10.00 pm.

President Kibaki will update world leaders on the situation in Somalia and Kenya’s and the regions vision for a peaceful country. Kenya has in the past brokered peace deals for Somalia. This culminated in the establishment of the Transitional Federal Government.

President Kibaki will also highlight the progress that has been made following the "Operation linda nchi" that the Kenya Defence Forces have undertaken to defend Kenya’s territorial integrity and also supplement the efforts of the TFG forces and those of AMISOM in dealing with the destabilizing forces of the Al Shabaab.

Kenya has stated that its interests in Somalia are to ensure that the country is stabilized to enable close to one million Somali refugees to safely return to their homes.

President Kibaki is on record stating that a peaceful and secure Somali is critical to regional prosperity and Kenya stands ready to help the nation of Somalia during its reconstruction period.

The Conference, which brings together leaders and representatives from over 40 governments and multi-lateral organisations and representatives of Somalia’s Transitional government, will serve as a catalyst to a new and sustainable international approach to Somalia.

The delegates will discuss how best the international community can scale-up its efforts to tackle both the root causes and effects of the security problems in that country.

The Conference is expected to agree on sustainable funding for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and support for Somali security and justice sectors.

The International Community will also deliberate and agree with the Somalia leaders on a political system to succeed the transitional institutions in Mogadishu while renewing their commitment to collectively tackle the terrorist threat emanating from the troubled country.