Kenyan businessmen to meet for crisis talks

Nairobi: More than 200 Kenyan business leaders are meeting in Nairobi on Tuesday to discuss how they can help end post-election violence in the country.

Under the mediation of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the government and opposition agreed on Monday on immediate steps to help solve the crisis.

"[On Tuesday] we begin our work on the political issues, the crisis arising out of the December 2007 elections. That is going to take hard negotiations, understandably give and take," Annan told a news conference late on Monday.

"At the end of the day I hope we will have proved that institutions are more important than any individual. We need strong institutions, strong democratic foundations, and I hope we will be able to give you that," he said.

The crisis in Kenya was triggered by President Mwai Kibaki's re-election on December 27, which opposition leader Raila Odinga says was rigged.

Annan's mediation team has given Kenya's feuding politicians 15 days to resolve the immediate political dispute.