William Ruto, Kenyan President, completed a short visit to Eritrea on Saturday, December 10. He met President Isaias Afwerki. According to Asmara, the aim was to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. One of the goals would be to eliminate visas for their respective citizens. William Ruto said on Twitter that he wanted to strengthen their cooperation to “ regional stability “.
For Kjetil Tronvoll, professor at Oslo New University College, the official communication of the two presidents, William Ruto and Isaias Afwerki, raises questions. For the researcher, it is possible that the agenda also focused on monitoring the cessation of hostilities agreement signed between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray authorities: “ The statement mentions the desire to support regional integration, to safeguard peace, security and development in the region. Yet if there is a regional disruptor in the Horn of Africa, it is Eritrea. We know – by the way – that Eritreans are not allowed to leave their country, so what would be the point of having visa waivers for Kenya when they need permission to leave Eritrea? »
” Front policies »
” Socontinues Kjetil Tronvoll, it seems that these are front policies and all this raises a question: what are the hidden objectives that have not been communicated? Wasn’t this visit, for example, a way for Kenya to monitor the agreement and ask Isaias Afwerki to withdraw his troops from Tigray? Because the Eritrean troops are still there, they continue to loot and the federal army does not hunt them or say does not go on the offensive against them. »
In fact, concludes the professor at Oslo New University College, “ it seems to me possible that this visit was an opportunity for Ruto to ensure the continuity of the role that Kenya had assumed until then, through Uhuru Kenyatta, whom he had appointed as envoy for the conflict in Ethiopia “.
►Also read : Ethiopia: despite peace agreements, the Eritrean army is not withdrawn from Tigray