Uhuru, Ethiopia PM Abiy open Moyale Border Post, call for unity among border communities

By The Times Team

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have called for peace and co-existence among the border communities.

President Uhuru and Ethiopia Prime Minister, Abiy.

Speaking in Moyale town today during the official opening of the One-Stop Border Post, the two leaders said the border communities have three generations that have nurtured the relationship between the two countries and that the communities have for years continued to coexist, as brothers and sisters.

“What we need Prime Minister, therefore, is to encourage them to continue working together, maintaining peace and security for this is the surest way that they can reach the maximum benefit of the excellent relationship between two nations,” President Kenyatta said.

The head of state added that the aim of his administration is to see Moyale elevated into a Dubai like city to serve the region and that non-tariff barriers have remained a big challenge on the economic front and there is a need to address it as a matter of urgency and that here is considerable untapped potential for aid and investment opportunities, and urged the business community from both sides to capitalize on this potential, taking advantage of the infrastructure being developed to enhance trade and investment.

He said his government is committed to continuing working with that of Ethiopia in developing mechanisms towards the elimination of these barriers making the two countries model and promoting bilateral trade and investment,” he said.

“Successful completion of this border post would not have been achieved without the support of various friends the African Development Bank, the government of the United Kingdom, who partnered with this important piece of creative infrastructure and they are indeed very grateful development partners for their valuable support,” he said.

Abiy said a time has come for the two countries to forge towards perfecting cross-border and institutional collaboration guided by the spirit of cooperation for mutual growth of its citizens.

“Launching such collaboration is a historical moment of utmost significance. The success of these projects will be measured by how effectively we have risen in our costs of institutions. It will also be measured by how much we have been able to seamlessly trade between Ethiopia and Kenya,” Abiy said.

Abiy is in the country for a two-day state visit.

He is expected to tour Lamu’s LAPSSET project among others.