LIVE TEXT: IGAD conference

11:00am

President Kibaki's motorcade is parked outside the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.

The head of state and his counterparts from neighbouring countries are all reportedly in the building, holding closed talks. Following the private session, they will enter the main KICC amphitheatre to make public speeches and policy statements.

The topic of these high-level meetings is the fragile state of Somalia and its interim government. Ahead of the summit, Kenyan foreign affairs minister Moses Wetang'ula said the Igad gathering will "audit" the Transitional Federal Government.

The TFG has so far failed to achieve many key goals, such as writing a new constitution and drawing internal boundaries, even though its mandate technically expires next year. (An agreement, with a five-year duration, was signed in Nairobi around February 2004 establishing the TFG.)

The excitement surrounding today's heads of state meeting seems to be much higher than it was yesterday, when ministers from Igad member countries held similar talks. During yesterday's ministerial gathering, many seats in the KICC auditorium remained empty.

11:29am

The United States deputy secretary of state, Ms Jendayi Fraser, is among key international officials attending the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) meeting for heads of state and government.

Southern Sudanese president Salva Kiirhas also arrived for the talks at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, which will focus on bringing peace and security to war-torn Somalia.

Ms Fraser was last in the country during the negotiations that brought an end to the post-election violence. The US official played a key role in the talks, when she delivered a strong message from President Bush to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to quickly agree to power-sharing to end two months of chaos and violence.

Ms Fraser arrived at KICC shortly after 10am and mingled freely with the participants, including Somali members of parliament and representatives of Igad member countries. Igad comprises seven African states: Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Sudan.

Eritrea has not been actively participating in Igad and has indicated that it would like to withdraw from the regional body.

Mr Kiir's arrival comes at a time when relationships between Kenya and Sudan have been strained following reports that Kenya could be involved in the supply of illegal arms to southern Sudan.

These reports followed the hijacking of the MV Faina, a Ukrainian vessel that was carrying 33 T-72 tanks destined for the Mombasa port. The Kenyan government has, however, insisted that the military hardware belongs to it, and not its neighbours.

Angered by the reports, the Khartoum government had indicated that it would not send top officials to this Nairobi meeting, including President Bashir, First Vice President Ali Osman Taha and Foreign Affairs minister Deng Alor. Instead, it has sent the equivalent of Kenya's assistant minister for Foreign Affairs.

Following a peace deal reached in Kenya in 2005, Mr Kiir became the whole of Sudan's vice president. He is, however, the president of the semi-autonomous southern Sudan.

Kenya played a key role in ending the 21-year conflict between the Khartoum government and former rebels, the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/Army.

Following the peace accord and reports by a US navy official that the MV Faina tanks were destined for Southern Sudan, Kenya has been accused of helping the semi-autonomous region stockpile arms.

12:37

The conference has yet to start. International officials and delegates continue to shuffle into the main auditorium at KICC.

13.30

President Kibaki has called for a regional security pact to fight piracy off the coastline. Speaking at a Nairobi summit of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), he called upon member states of the regional body to work with the international community to draw up a joint anti-piracy framework.

"Kenya welcomes the UN Security Council resolutions…authorising the use of force against piracy," he said at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.

"In this regard, I would like to record our appreciation to our partners who have deployed warships to patrol the Somali waters in a bid to deter these criminal activities."

"As IGAD member states," the President continued, "it is imperative to develop a regional wartime security policy framework in collaboration with the international community and come up with practical mechanics to enhance security in the region's coastline."

He was speaking in the presence of top regional leaders, including the head of Somalia's interim government, Mr Abdullahi Yusuf, Ugandan president Museveni, Sudanese vice president Salva Kiir, the defence minister of Burundi, a special representative of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, Kenyan vice president Kalonzo Musyoka and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Concern about piracy was also expressed by the AU deputy chairperson, Mr Erastus Mwencha, who warned that "we cannot address piracy as an issue on its own, unless we secure what is happening inside the country."

For this reason, he called on African countries to send troops to join AU peacekeepers, who are operating far below their intended strength and are facing a growing Iraq-style insurgency.

"We would like to appeal to African countries that have the capacity to send troops to come and support the international community that has come to secure the coast of Somalia," he said, noting that the AU plans to hold a meeting next month to raise funds to deploy more forces.

"When you receive this request," Mr Mwencha said, "please do respond with the same commitment that you have demonstrated before."