- Deputy President Kithure Kindiki landed in Bahir Dar aboard a Kenya Air Force aircraft for a continental security forum
- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received Kindiki and the two held a bilateral meeting before the forum opened
- This year's Tana Forum centres on economic sovereignty and geopolitical transformation as pathways to peace in Africa
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Deputy President Kithure Kindiki travelled to Ethiopia on Saturday, October 24, touching down at Bahir Dar Dejazmach Belay Zeleke International Airport on board a Kenya Air Force Fokker 70 aircraft.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was at hand to receive him.
The two leaders would later h\old a brief bilateral meeting before the main proceedings got under way.
"I was pleased to receive Kenya's Deputy President, Kithure Kindiki, ahead of the 12th Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa, where we held a brief bilateral meeting on matters of mutual interest," Abiy said, though he did not disclose what specific issues were on the table.
Kenya and Ethiopia share a border and are close partners in the Horn of Africa, with security and regional cooperation featuring regularly in their engagements.
Kindiki is attending the 12th Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa, running from October 23 to 25 in Bahir Dar.
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The event is organised by the Tana Forum Secretariat and the Institute for Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University.
Ghana's President John Mahama, who chairs the Tana Forum Board, is also in attendance.
Former presidents Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Goodluck Jonathan (Nigeria), Joyce Banda (Malawi), and Catherine Samba-Panza (the Central African Republic) all sit on the board alongside Mahama.
This edition of the forum is built around the theme "Pathways to Peace in Africa: Economic Sovereignty and Geopolitical Transformation."
Discussions will explore how Africa can convert its natural resources and digital strengths into broad-based industrial growth, how economic sovereignty can underpin lasting peace, and how to tackle illicit economies that erode governance across the continent.
Side events on the forum's margins cover trade and peace, international humanitarian law, climate change and security, and illicit financial flows tied to the conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan.
The forum was established in 2012, following the African Union's 2009 Tripoli Declaration, which called for African-led approaches to continental peace and security.
Its organisers describe the gathering as modelled on discussions held beneath the baobab tree, combining academic research with practical, on-the-ground experience to produce policy-relevant outcomes.
Kindiki's departure came just one day after President William Ruto touched down in Nairobi following his own trip to Harare, where he attended the 25th Comesa Summit of Heads of State and Government.
At that meeting, Ruto handed over the chairmanship of the 21-member trading bloc to Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The Harare summit also saw the launch of the Comesa Medium-Term Strategic Plan for 2026 to 2030, with deliberations covering intra-African trade, economic integration, artificial intelligence, and broader regional priorities.
Source: TUKO.co.ke