U.S. Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday praised what he known as the “robust relationship” between U.S. and Kenyan forces as he met with troops from the 2 nations at Camp Simba in Manda Bay, Kenya.
“You’re a mannequin of interoperability,” Austin mentioned. “You’re working side-by-side daily, taking good care of one another, supporting one another and also you’re engaged on some essential problems with safety.”
The USA and Kenya signed a five-year protection settlement Monday geared toward strengthening counterterrorism efforts in East Africa and supporting Kenya’s efforts to take the lead in a safety mission to Haiti.
Austin mentioned the USA is “grateful to Kenya for its management in tackling safety challenges within the area and world wide” and thanked the nation for its willingness to take the lead of a multinational safety power to fight gang violence in Haiti.
He mentioned the Biden administration would work with Congress to safe the $100 million in funding that it pledged for the Haiti mission final week on the sidelines of the U.N Normal Meeting.
“The USA stands able to help that vital mission by offering sturdy monetary and logistical help,” he mentioned.
Austin urged different nations to comply with Kenya’s instance and supply extra personnel, tools, help, coaching, and funding for the deliberate multi-national safety mission to Haiti.
Kenya has pledged to ship 1,000 safety officers to Haiti to counter gang violence that has surged for the reason that July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. The safety mission, which has but to be accredited by the U.N. Safety Council, was requested by Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry final October.