Hitting the reset button in US-Kenya relations

This weekend President Uhuru Kenyatta is playing host to the American President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. This high profile visit by Obama offers a chance for us to hit the reset button in terms of our two countries’ bilateral relations. It is no secret that the US government was not particularly thrilled that we elected two ICC indictees into the presidency. Since then a combination of the collapse of President Kenyatta’s case and realpolitik has ensured that the US does not completely throw the Kenyan administration under the bus in the name of international justice. The US needs Kenya’s cooperation in the war on terror in Somalia, as well as maintaining stability in the wider eastern African region. The Kenyan economy is also an attractive investment destination for US firms. To put it simply, the US and the EU need Kenya just as much as we need them.

Obama’s visit therefore offers a chance for the two countries to move even further in cementing the relationship. Key areas of cooperation that ought to be emphasised include trade and investment; support for civil society organisations; and reforms in the security sector. Let’s take each of these in turn.