Kenyan President William Ruto arrived in Kinshasa on Sunday for a short visit during which he is to meet Felix Tshisekedi. According to the official press release, William Ruto should discuss investments, regional integration and, above all, discuss the security situation in eastern DRC with his Congolese counterpart. While he rather left the hand to Kenyatta, this visit by William Ruto underlines the importance of the file for Kenya.
With our correspondent in Nairobi, Albane Thirouard
The statement from the Kenyan presidency affirms that the country is holding a ” crucial role within the Nairobi peace talks. They should therefore be at the heart of the exchanges. Especially since the visit of the Kenyan head of state comes as a session of discussions between the Congolese government and the armed groups was to open on Monday in the Kenyan capital. But it was postponed to the end of the week, said a diplomatic source. The M23’s participation in the talks is in question.
This displacement of the Kenyan President follows that of its predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, now EAC Facilitator for DRC. He met last week with authorities, diplomats and local communities during a visit to Kinshasa and Goma.
► To read also: DRC: 10 years later, the return of the M23 to the gates of Goma
During his visit, Uhuru Kenyatta called on the armed groups to lay down their arms and choose dialogue. But Kinshasa refuses to discuss with the M23 which it describes as a “terrorist” movement. Several statements around the role of Kenyan troops within the East African regional force in ground floor are also sources of different interpretations.
The Congolese advocate a “ offensive mission “. But in its press release on Sunday, Nairobi evokes a mission of ” maintain the peace “. In Goma last Wednesday, the Kenyan commander of the force had described it as ” task force “, while specifying that the ” political way remained a priority to bring peace.
The fact remains that for the moment, only two Kenyan contingents have arrived in the east of the DRC, that is to say nearly 200 soldiers out of the 900 planned.
After the DRC, William Ruto will travel to South Korea for a three-day visit where he will meet President Yoon Suk-Yeol. The objective of this visit will be to explore the partnerships between the two countries in various fields such as agriculture, energy or even health.