The United States and Kenya have signed a defence agreement that will see the East African nation get resources and support for security deployments as it has volunteered to lead an international mission to violence-plagued Haiti.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Kenya’s Defence Minister Aden Duale signed the accord on Monday at a meeting in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, guiding the countries’ defence relations for the next five years.

The US defence chief underscored Kenya’s role in the fight against al-Shabab, an armed group affiliated with al-Qaeda that is active in East Africa.He also thanked the Kenyan government for volunteering to take the leadership of a proposed, multinational force to Haiti, which has been struggling to respond to months of escalating gang violence.