Eritrea president says Kenya key to regional dynamics, plans visit

Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki has stressed the importance of Kenya for the new era of peace in the wider Horn of Africa region.

Afwerki was speaking when he received a Kenyan delegation led by the country’s Director General of National Intelligence, the Eritrean Information Minister disclosed on Saturday.

“It is a new era in the Horn of Africa and Kenya, given its importance, is expected to play an important role in shaping the region,” Afwerki said after receiving a message from his counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta.

He has also accepted an invitation to visit Kenya at a yet to be confirmed date. Afwerki’s last regional visits have been thrice to Ethiopia.

He has in turn hosted Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on two occasions, the President of Somalia has also been to Asmara twice whiles South Sudan’s Salva Kiir has visited once in the last few months.

Regional politics took a drastic turn after the Ethiopia – Eritrea peace deal of July 2018. It’s effect has led to warming of diplomatic ties across the region.