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US President Joe Biden on Tuesday spoke with his Kenyan counterpart President William Ruto after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) approved the resolution to send 1,000 Kenyan troops to the country.
In a statement, the White House said Biden thanked President Ruto for answering Haiti’s call to serve as the lead nation of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.
“Kenya, US welcomed the successful vote at the United Nations Security Council authorizing the MSS to bring relief to the people of Haiti, who have suffered for far too long at the hands of violent criminals,” the statement reads in part.
During the call, the two presidents also discussed additional opportunities to promote regional security and mutual prosperity by spurring new investments, jobs, and sustainable growth between the two countries.
President Biden expressed appreciation for the US-Kenya strategic partnership, which he said is founded on a pursuit of shared solutions to global challenges.
He also congratulated Ruto for hosting the recently concluded Africa Climate Summit, in Nairobi.
Already the US has pledged to provide $200 million (Sh29 billion) for the mission.
The Biden administration has pledged $100 million (Sh14.5 billion) to the mission and another $100 million (Sh14.5 billion from the Defense Department in the form of intelligence, airlifts, communications and medical assistance.
About a dozen countries said they would join the mission, including Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda.
The United Nations Security Council on Monday, October 2, approved a yearlong multinational security mission for Haiti, led by Kenya, to crack down on rampant gang violence that has unraveled life for many in the Caribbean nation.
The 15-member Council voted to authorize the mission that would guard critical infrastructure such as airports, ports, schools, hospitals and key traffic intersections.
They will also carry out “targeted operations” along with the Haitian National Police.
Kenya has pledged at least 1,000 police officers, and several other nations are expected to offer other resources.
Speaking after the approval, Ruto welcomed the council’s decision terming it “an overdue and critical instrument to define the multinational mission.”
The President described the mission as a moral obligation for the international community.
“The situation in Haiti demands, as a matter of humanitarian consideration, moral responsibility and fundamental justice, that actions be scaled up significantly to meet the demands of emergency relief, humanitarian aid, support for livelihoods and major interventions in public health and environmental protection,” he said.
Ruto said the mission will provide a different footprint in the history of international interventions in Haiti.
He termed Kenya’s move an affirmation of Pan-African commitment to the continent’s unity together with the African Union’s policy of solidarity with the African Diaspora, bound by Africa’s colonial history.
