News / Foreign Policy

Obama: US will help Kenya fight against al-Shabab

Sunday, 26 July 2015 4:08 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 26 July 2015 10:04 AM ]

President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta at the State House in Nairobi, Kenya, July 25, 2015.

President Barack Obama has said that the United States will help Kenya fight against the al-Shabab terrorist group, the al-Qaeda affiliate based in Somalia.

Obama made the remarks at a joint news conference with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi on Saturday.

“We have systematically reduced the territory that al-Shabab controls, we have been able to decrease their effective control within Somalia and have weakened those networks operating here in East Africa. But that doesn’t mean the problem is solved," he said.

The US is willing to train Kenyan officers to fight the terrorist group and provide Kenya with necessary funding, he added.

Kenyatta said “this issue of terrorism is new to us,” adding, “and as it is new, we learn with each and every step.”

The two presidents signed an “action plan” to increase Kenya’s security in its battle against the al-Shabab.

Obama arrived in Kenya on Friday and met his half-sister Auma Obama and his step-grandmother, known as Mama Sarah.

He also addressed the Global Entrepreneurship Summit on Saturday in his first official engagement in Nairobi.

"I wanted to be here, because Africa is on the move, Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world," Obama said at the summit.

The American president also had a meeting with Kenyatta and discussed issues of bilateral interests.

Obama is expected to leave for Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa late Sunday as the first American president to visit the second most populous country in Africa.

He will also be the first US leader to address the African Union, the 54-member continental bloc.

"This is the first time a sitting (US) president is visiting Ethiopia," Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Tewolde Mulugeta said. "This will bring the relationship between our two countries to a new high."

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk