Uhuru Kenyatta thanks AU for supporting Kenya on ICC

President Uhuru Kenyatta addresses African Ambassadors accredited to Germany at a hotel in Berlin on April 6, 2016. PHOTO | PSCU

What you need to know:

  • The President spoke at a Berlin hotel when he met African Ambassadors accredited to Germany.
  • Triple threats of poverty, ignorance and disease can be addressed by one people with the good-will of strategic partners.

BERLIN
President Uhuru Kenyatta expressed gratitude to the African Union and its individual member states for standing in solidarity with Kenya as the country battled International Criminal Cases (ICC) cases against its citizens.

President Kenyatta said it was through the support of friendly countries that the ICC cases facing him, his deputy William Ruto and former radio presenter Joshua Sang at The Hague collapsed.

“The strong position taken by the African Union and its member states in support of Kenya at the ICC enabled us to succeed. Kenya will continue partnering with other countries in the continent to achieve Africa’s agenda,” President Kenyatta said.

He said Africa needs unity of purpose and a spirit of Pan-Africanism to advance the continent’s interests ‘within the world’s bastions of power’.

The President spoke at a Berlin hotel when he met African Ambassadors accredited to Germany to discuss ways of forging unity and solidarity in advancing the continent’s common stands at the international arena.

The Group of African ambassadors acts as an umbrella association for the envoys to advance their countries’ interests and harmonize common views on topical issues to represent the official position from the African diplomatic corp.

INTERGRATION

He emphasised that the triple threats of poverty, ignorance and disease that continued to assail Africans and weaken the social fabric of the societies can be addressed by one people with the good-will of strategic partners.

“It is only through a concerted effort on the part of every stakeholder in Africa, that we will forge a stronger future for our continent, and in so doing, build a stronger world as well”, President Kenyatta said.

He told countries in Africa to aim at intra-trade saying the future of the continent lies in accelerated integration, enhanced trading with one another.

“Over the past decade, Africa’s commitment to regional economic integration has grown, with the continent’s total trade (both imports and exports) tripling in value to $1.2 trillion.

“Integration will bring with it bigger markets for African goods, more jobs for African peoples, economic growth for African countries, and a brighter future for the youth of our continent,” he said.

On security and political stability, the President urged countries in the continent to invest heavily in ensuring the prevalence of peace among people.

He said Kenya remained steadfast on regional peace initiatives, contributing to stability efforts in Somalia, where the country worked with other Troop Contributing countries within the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

The President told the meeting, also attended by Cabinet Secretaries Amina Mohamed and Najib Balala that accelerated interventions in state building in Somalia will contribute immensely to sustainable peace within the region.