President William Ruto and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and advancing efforts to restore stability in Haiti.
During their meeting on the sidelines of the 38th Extraordinary Summit of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the two leaders underscored the shared history, culture, and identity of Africa and the Caribbean, which have formed the foundation for growing collaboration between the regions.
Ruto and Mottley expressed optimism that the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, which Kenya is leading, will bring peace to the crisis-hit Caribbean nation.
“We agreed to continue working together in the search for peace in Haiti. We also expressed hope that the Multinational Security Support mission will deliver dividends to the people of the Caribbean nation,” Ruto stated.
The two regions have been deepening their cooperation through initiatives such as the Caribbean Community-Africa Summit, whose inaugural meeting was held in 2021.
Ruto’s visit to Addis Ababa comes ahead of the African Union Commission (AUC) elections scheduled for Saturday, February 15, where he is expected to lobby support for Raila Odinga’s bid to succeed Moussa Faki Mahamat as AU Commission chair.
The former Prime Minister is competing against Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato and Djibouti’s Mahamoud Ali Youssouf in a secret ballot vote by the AU Assembly.
