Kenya, Haiti establish diplomatic ties ahead of police deployment
Kenya has formally established diplomatic relations with Haiti amid an offer to deploy 1000 National Police Service (NPS) officers to the Caribbean nation.
President William Ruto and Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry witnessed the signing of the agreement at the Kenyan Mission in New York, United States.
The agreement signed by Minister Jean Victor Génus and Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua will facilitate cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
President Ruto called for a holistic approach that includes political, security, and developmental considerations to effectively address the situation in Haiti.
He said Kenya will do its part in leading a well-resourced and effective multinational security support mission in the country.
“As the leading nation in the UN-backed security mission in Haiti, we are committed to deploying a specialized team to comprehensively assess the situation and formulate actionable strategies that will lead to long-term solutions,” he said.
Prime Minister Henry said Haiti needs all the necessary support to address the immense security, humanitarian, environmental, and economic challenges in the framework of today’s deployment.
He said the people of Haiti look forward to the elimination of criminal gangs that have been inflicting terror since 2021.
This comes after US President Joe Biden praised President Ruto for his offer to deploy Kenyan police officers in the UN-backed security mission in Haiti.
“The Caribbean community is facilitating dialogue within Haitian society. I thank President Ruto of Kenya for his willingness to serve as the lead nation of a UN-backed security support mission,” he said.
In late July this year, Foreign and Diaspora Affairs CS Alfred Mutua announced in a statement that Kenya was considering leading a multinational police force to help fight Haiti’s gangs and improve security in the violence-plagued country.
“Kenya’s commitment is to deploy a contingent of 1,000 police officers to train and assist the Haitian police to restore normalcy in the country and protect strategic installations,” he said.