Addis Ababa (HOL) — Somali and Kenyan foreign ministers met Tuesday in Addis Ababa on the sidelines of the African Union’s 49th Executive Council session, a day after Somali State Minister Abshir Bukhaari was reportedly denied entry into Kenya and sent back to Mogadishu.
Somalia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Abdisalam Ali met Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Musalia W. Mudavadi, for bilateral consultations.
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The two ministers discussed recent developments related to immigration issues and agreed to strengthen coordination on consular affairs and people-to-people mobility.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations on issues critical to regional stability.
The meeting came after Somalia’s federal government summoned Kenya’s ambassador Monday following reports that Bukhaari was denied entry at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.
The incident reportedly occurred Sunday, when Kenyan immigration officials refused to admit the Somali official and placed him on a return flight to Mogadishu.
Local media reported that Bukhaari was denied entry over questions about a Kenyan passport he was allegedly carrying.
The exact circumstances surrounding the document have not been officially disclosed, and neither government has publicly confirmed the details of the incident.
The case comes about a month after Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister Jibril Abdirashid Haji was also denied entry into Kenya over allegations that he had fraudulently obtained a Kenyan passport.
The two foreign ministers did not publicly say whether they discussed the reported denial of entry involving the Somali officials.
Somalia and Kenya have a complex diplomatic relationship marked by cooperation on security and trade, as well as periodic tensions over border security, immigration and regional politics.
