Nairobi — Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa and United States Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Affairs Celeste Wallander on Wednesday met to discuss bilateral defense cooperation between the two countries in the wake of increased insecurity around the globe.
Kenya’s Chief of Defence Forces General Robert Kibochi was also present during the Kenya Bilateral Defense Forum which was held at the Pentagon, the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense.
“The two sides discussed a range of topics including regional security; cybersecurity; security cooperation; U.S. Africa Command mission; Massachusetts National Guard accomplishments and future plans; and climate change,” read a statement from Kenya’s Defense Ministry.
Both the U.S. Department of Defense and the Kenya Ministry of Defence and the Kenya Defence Forces intend to continue the strong partnership including the next iteration of the United States – Kenya Bilateral Defense Forum.
The meeting comes at a time when the region is facing increased threats of terrorism posed by the Somalia-based terror outfit Al-Shabaab.
Kenya is part of the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) made up of troops from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda tasked with helping Somali forces fight the Al-Qaeda linked militant group which continues to wreak havoc in the region.
Two days ago, the Al-Shabaab militant group stormed the African union military base hosting Burundian soldiers killing more than a dozen troops.
Kenya has equally paid heavy price since its troops launched a military offensive against the Al-Shabaab in 2011 in an operation code-named “Operation Linda Nchi”.
Some of the notable attacks include the attack in Kenyan-run military camp in El-Adde in 2016, the Garissa University attack which left at least 140 dead and the Westgate mall attack in 2013 which left over 70 people dead.