US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Holds Phone Conversation with President Uhuru

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday held a phone conversation with President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Pompeo sought to assure President Kenyatta of the US continued support for Kenya’s security and economic development.

State Department’s spokeswoman said the two also discussed “shared goals of countering terrorism, promoting regional security and ensuring good governance.”

The call is said to be part of Trump administration’s attempt to redeem relations with Africa, a continent that the American president has previously derided in vulgar terms.

The call to President Kenyatta comes two days after Pompeo had a similar telephone call to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a statement, the State Department further said that Pompeo “thanked President Kenyatta for his leadership in calling for an important national conversation to move the country forward following the 2017 election.”

“They also discussed ways to work together to hasten the end of the conflict in South Sudan and ensure continued support for Amisom forces in Somalia,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert added in a written statement.

Pompeo’s predecessor Rex Tillerson had visited Kenya during his one-week tour to Africa before he was fired by President Trump in March.