Kenya will resume exports of miraa to Somalia in two week’s time following President Uhuru Kenyatta’s trip to Mogadishu on Thursday, June 9.
According to Agriculture CS Peter Munya, the Head of State entered a deal with the current President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to lift a two-year ban.
The CS also disclosed that direct flights between Kenya and Somalia will resume on Tuesday this coming week.
This is a plus for mirra farmers as the cash crop will be flown directly from Isiolo airport.
A bilateral air service agreement on the sidelines of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) meeting is expected to be signed on Tuesday.
“We want to thank President Uhuru Kenyatta for the diplomatic negotiations he has been carrying out quietly. The ban had greatly affected the economy of Mt Kenya East and the farmers’ earnings,” CS Munya said.
Kenya and Somalia ended their ‘beef’ in June 2021 after six months of intense frosty ties.
Foreign Affairs CS Raychelle Omamo spoke on phone with her Somalia counterpart Abdirizak Mohamed and emphasised the importance of normalising diplomatic relations.
The two leaders agreed to keep bilateral diplomatic channels of communications open between the two capitals in all matters of future strategic diplomatic relations
In 2021, Kenya exported goods worth KSh 13.45 billion to Somalia.
This was an 18 percent increase from KSh 11.39 billion in 2020.
