Turkish President to visit Kenya
What you need to know:
- President Erdogan intended visit has raised the antennae of security experts as Kenya continues to cement its stature as a top regional power.
- Ms Mohamed visited Turkey this week where she made a keynote address at the eighth annual ambassadors’ conference.
- Turkey, since the days when Mr Erdogan was its prime minister, has had a keen interest in Kenya’s neighbour Somalia.
- His visit to Kenya is therefore being viewed in light of Turkey’s interests in the two nations that border the Indian Ocean.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will make a state visit to Kenya, Foreign Affairs CS Amina Mohamed has said.
His intended visit has raised the antennae of security experts as Kenya continues to cement its stature as a top regional power.
Ms Mohamed visited Turkey this week where she made a keynote address at the eighth annual ambassadors’ conference.
“During my visit to Turkey, I paid a courtesy call on President Erdogan who confirmed that he will visit Kenya during the first half of 2016.
We are engaging another gear in our foreign relationships and high-profile visits is part of this.
This month we host Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari to further boost our relationship,” she said.
KEEN INTEREST
Turkey, since the days when Mr Erdogan was its prime minister, has had a keen interest in Kenya’s neighbour Somalia.
Kenya made a military incursion into the troubled nation in October 2011.
Its troops control not only the strategic port of Kismayu but also Jubaland.
On the other hand, Turkey has made deep inroads into Somalia since President Erdogan first visited the country in August 2011.
Mr Erdogan went against popular acclaim and visited Mogadishu.
He left after signing a $500 million deal in road projects, hospitals, mosques and schools.
In January 2015, President Erdogan visited Somalia again and made promises.
His visit to Kenya is therefore being viewed in light of Turkey’s interests in the two nations that border the Indian Ocean.
“Kenya has found an ally in President Erdogan in trying to make Somalia more stable,” a security analyst who sought anonymity said.
“Kenya, with its own Somali population and their attendant clan rivalries both in the country and in Somalia, is always viewed in suspicion by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud. Erdogan will be seen as an honest broker.”
MILITARY FUNDING
Kenya will request that Turkey funds the training of Somalia’s national army and police, which will then in turn be relied upon to secure the country from al-Shabaab.
A stable Somali will see Kenya and other African countries pull out their troops.
Apart from a stable Somalia, Kenya has not hidden its interest in the Jubaland region.
This week, CS Amina Mohamed was in Ankara, where she met Mr Erdogan, Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Economy Minister Mustafa Elitas.
During her visit, she conveyed to President Erdogan President Uhuru Kenyatta’s sympathies over the terror attack in Turkey’s capital Istanbul.
In her meetings with the ministers, the CS discussed cooperation on education and academic exchanges, especially in research.
Trade imbalances between the two countries as well as mitigation measures and visa regimes between them were discussed.
A joint economic commission in which deals on these issues will be cemented will be set up when Mr Erdogan visits Kenya.
President Uhuru made an official visit to Turkey in April 2014.
