Nairobi, February 7- The U.S. government will continue backing the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission in Haiti, led by Kenyan security forces, despite President Donald Trump’s 90-day suspension of foreign aid.
This assurance came during a phone call on Thursday between President William Ruto and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, where they discussed Kenya-U.S. relations.
President Ruto confirmed that the MSS mission had been exempted from the aid suspension, emphasizing the importance of maintaining stability efforts in Haiti.
“Our conversation confirmed that the U.S. has specifically excluded its support for the MSS mission in Haiti from the broader pause on federal assistance, acknowledging the mission’s critical role in restoring stability,” Ruto stated.
Secretary Rubio expressed appreciation for Kenya’s leadership in Haiti and its contributions to peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) amid ongoing tensions with the M23 rebels.
“Rubio spoke with President Ruto to thank him for Kenya’s leadership in the MSS mission, which remains fully operational, and for Kenya’s efforts in fostering peace in the DRC,” read a statement from the U.S. State Department.
Uncertainty surrounded the Haiti mission following Trump’s aid freeze, as the U.S. had pledged up to Ksh.38.5 billion for its support. To ensure continued funding, President Ruto has been advocating for the mission to transition into a United Nations peacekeeping operation.
Currently, the MSS mission relies on voluntary contributions, but if integrated into a UN framework, all 193 member states would share the financial responsibility.
