President Uhuru Kenyatta and his DRC counterpart Felix Tshisekedi have raised concerns over surging cases of terrorism and violent extremism in Africa.
In a joint communication on Thursday from Kinshasa DRC, the two leaders affirmed the need for concerted efforts, at bilateral and regional levels including the EAC, ICGLR, SADC, IGAD, and other regional mechanisms to effectively combat terrorism.
They pledged to continue to work together in safeguarding peace and stability in the Horn of Africa, the Great Lakes region, and the continent.
The statement comes as Uhuru completed his three-day state visit to DRC which began on Tuesday 20-22, April 2021.
The two reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to deepen the long-standing fraternal relations that exist between the DRC and Kenya.
They noted that the bilateral bonds that join DRC and Kenya are anchored on long-standing people-to-people relations, a rich shared heritage, and trade ties.
They also committed to not only consolidate the strategic bilateral cooperation but also inject new impetus to its scope and scale.
Uhuru and his host recognised the central inimitable functions that the African Union, AU organs, Regional Economic Communities/mechanisms, and continental institutions continue to play in promoting peace, security, sustainable development, and economic transformation in the continent.
They acknowledged that the wisdom and guidance that the AU Chairperson (Tshisekedi) holds will be brought to bear on the encouragement to leaders across the continent to manage and mitigate the various crises in the continent and to promote peace and stability.
They successfully concluded and oversaw the signing of four bilateral instruments of cooperation, including General Cooperation Agreement, Bilateral Security Cooperation Agreement, Agreement on Defence Cooperation, and, the Renewal of the Agreement on Maritime Freight Management.
The signing of these bilateral agreements will enable the volume of trade between DRC and Kenya to grow exponentially.
Further, the two Heads of State undertook to conclude an MOU on Immigration to harmonise the visa regime with the aim of encouraging free movement of people, goods, and services.
They also directed their respective ministers and senior officials to work together to expeditiously develop and implement roadmaps to bring into fruition the commitments envisaged in the signed instruments of cooperation.
