Kenya and Ethiopia on Tuesday expressed support for the deployment of a peace operation in Somalia in order to safeguard the gains achieved in political settlement in that country.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and visiting Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi reiterated their support for the decision of the Inter-Government Authority on Development (IGAD) Summit to deploy a peace operation in Somalia, according to a press release. The two leaders, which reviewed the prevailing political and security situation in Somalia and the Horn of Africa in general, re-affirmed their support to the transitional federal institutions in Somalia and expressed their commitment to continuing the search for durable and sustainable peace and stability there.

Kibaki and Meles underlined the central role of IGAD as a peace sponsor of the Somali reconciliation process and urged the Somali leaders to pursue the path of dialogue in a spirit of accommodation in resolving the Somalia problem one and for all.

The two leaders then expressed satisfaction with the existing warm and fraternal mutual relations and underscored the need to continue working closely for the enhancement of security along the common border.

The prime minister concluded his one-day visit to Kenya later in the afternoon.

Source: Xinhua