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Uhuru on charm offensive with invitation to British PM Cameron


President Uhuru Kenyatta has invited British Prime Minister David Cameron to visit the country early next year.

The invitation, sent to the UK leader on July 22nd — three days before US President Barack Obama flew in — is an indication that President Kenyatta is determined to repair his administration’s relations with the Western countries.

On Monday, he flew to Italy for bilateral talks with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who visited Kenya in July.

In the letter, President Kenyatta spoke glowingly of the diplomatic relations with Britain, which he described as “warm and friendly” and said that the invitation was meant to entrench further the partnership between the two countries.

“I note with satisfaction that our relations, which are based on historical bonds, have been warm and cordial. It is, therefore, my desire that we deepen these bonds of friendship and fraternal cooperation further, for the mutual benefit of our peoples,” he says in the letter.

ENTRENCH RELATIONS

He says that should Mr Cameron accept to visit early next year, it will provide a platform for Kenya and Britain to entrench their relations.

“It is my pleasure to extend to you Prime Minister an invitation to make a state visit to Kenya in the early part of 2016.

“The visit will accord us an opportunity to consult on a wide range of issues of mutual interest at the bilateral and multilateral levels,” the letter states.

The invitation, and the July visit of President Obama, is a clear indication that President Kenyatta has now turned his focus on the Western countries who were initially against his decision to run for the Presidency in 2013 when he was still facing charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands.