Kenya and the United States agreed on Wednesday to take a series of steps to deepen their economic ties, promote opportunities for US businesses and enhance their joint efforts to “degrade Al-Shabaab.”
The initiatives were announced in a statement issued by the two countries at the conclusion of their two-day “bilateral strategic dialogue” in Washington.
The statement, however, offered few details on new undertakings resulting from the discussions led by Foreign Minister Monica Juma and senior State Department officials.
In regard to security matters, for example, the statement said “the United States commended the sacrifice of the Kenya Defence Forces in Somalia,” but it used general terms only to describe future initiatives.
It added, “Both sides committed to enhance counterterrorism, defence and maritime surveillance security cooperation through intelligence sharing and capacity building.
It also said, “The two governments reaffirmed their commitment to degrade Al-Shabaab and agreed to work with UN Security Council partners to sanction Al-Shabaab and other terror groups operating in the Horn of Africa.”