The U.S. and Kenya signed a defense agreement Monday that will see the East African nation get resources and support for security deployments as it is poised to lead a multinational peacekeeping mission to Haiti to combat gang violence.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Kenya’s Defense Minister Aden Duale signed the accord at a meeting in Nairobi.
Austin thanked Kenya for volunteering to take the leadership of the Haiti multinational force and reiterated that the U.S government would work with Congress to secure the $100 million in funding that it pledged on the sidelines of the U.N General Assembly.
Austin said the rest of the world ought to follow Kenya’s commitment to global security and “step up and provide more personnel, equipment, support, training and funding.”
Kenya has pledged to send 1,000 security officers to Haiti to combat gang violence in a mission that is pending the U.N Security Council’s formal approval but has received support from the U.N. and U.S.