ETHIOPIA-KENYA: Leaders urge interim Somali government to go home

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

ADDIS ABABA, 11 Mar 2005 (IRIN) - Kenyan troops can only be deployed in Somalia with the consent of the Somali people, Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki said on Wednesday during a visit to Ethiopia.

"They [the Somalis] will make up their own minds," Kibaki told reporters in Addis Ababa, when asked if Kenya would send peacekeepers to Somalia. "It is Somalia who will decide on their own country."

The Kenyan leader said that it was imperative the Somali transitional federal government (TFG) relocated to Mogadishu as soon as possible.

Somalia's TFG was formed last year at the end of a reconciliation conference in Kenya and is still based in Nairobi.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said: "On the relocation of the transitional federal government of Somalia, we are all agreed that this should happen at the earliest possible opportunity."

He added: "We are not going to let the new government of Somalia vegetate in Nairobi. They have to relocate. And whatever they need all of us [IGAD countries] will provide."

The regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which groups Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Somalia, sponsored the peace talks that culminated in the formation of the TFG.

Kibaki, who was on a four-day official visit to Ethiopia, also met with Somali Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Gedi and Djibouti's Prime Minister Dileita Mohamed Dileita on Wednesday to discuss peace plans for Somalia.

The Kenyan president reaffirmed his government's determination to fight corruption.

"We in the [Kenyan] government are committed to eliminating corruption," Kibaki said. "As of this moment we are pursuing any person who is promoting this thing. We are determined to catch any person who is involved in corruption and take him to court."

On Thursday, Kibaki urged rich nations to "bring down the walls" that protect their lucrative markets. Speaking at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, he said economic growth would further strengthen democracy and reduce poverty on the continent.

"Africa's economic performance will largely depend on increased participation in international trade," Kibaki said. "Moreover, economic prosperity will further strengthen our democracies. Overseas development assistance is welcome, but market access is a better and more effective way of empowering our people."

Kibaki said that Africa's share of world trade was less than three percent while exports from the continent had dropped from six percent in 1980 to two percent today.

"To reverse poverty and improve living conditions on the continent current growth rates must be doubled, through improved trade and increased investments," he added.

[ENDS]