Somalia President Mohammed Farmajo has agreed to meet President Uhuru Kenyatta after his Sunday, March 8, meeting with Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i.
This was confirmed in a statement by Villa Somalia - the official residence of the President of Somalia - marking a significant development in both country's attempts to end a protracted diplomatic dispute.
The decision was reportedly greatly influenced by the United States which, according to Garowe Online, a Somali-based news outlet, reached out to Faramajo via Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed.
The US allegedly demanded that Farmajo calls Uhuru at the height of the wrangles that had started on Monday, March 2, over claims that a fugitive from Somalia was hiding in Mandera.
"A source said that following the request by the US, which has funded the Somali army, the Ethiopian Prime Minister called Farmajo and asked him to speak directly with President Kenyatta to calm the tension," reported Garowe.
On the night of Wednesday, March 4, the Somali president called his Kenyan counterpart hours after Kenya warned Somalia not to cause a provocation, as the tiff between the two neighbours escalated.
Farmajo and Kenyatta discussed measures to be undertaken in resolving the stalemate and agreed to appoint respective committees to handle the matter diplomatically.
Another point of discussion was ways to jointly work on border security by sending committees from both nations to hold talks on strengthening trade ties between the nations.
Kenyatta and Farmajo also acknowledged that border security was a shared responsibility around a mutual interest and affirmed that security was interconnected. They also agreed that consultations should be held in case of misunderstandings.
Matiang'i had led a team of five to Mogadishu to engage Farmajo on the sustained tension at the Kenya-Somalia border with reports indicating that Jubaland forces had crossed over to the border town of Mandera.
