President Uhuru Kenyatta’s meeting with other heads of state paying off

NAIROBI: This week President Uhuru Kenyatta was in Israel for a three-day State visit. The objectives of the visit included cementing trade between Kenya and Israel, enhanced investment opportunities and bolstering security ties between the two countries. Kenya and Israel share the unfortunate reality of being islands of peace in a sea of chaos; a reality Israel has managed well. Kenya can, therefore, learn from its Middle-East ally. Through Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV), Kenya has benefited immensely in areas like defence, water resources, fisheries, education, science and technology.

In the Jubilee manifesto sub-regionalism and Pan-Africanism are overriding themes. In drafting the manifesto, Jubilee retraced the steps of the founders of Pan-Africanism like Kwame Nkrumah, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and Mzee Jomo Kenyatta among others.

During his inauguration as the fourth President of Kenya, Uhuru reiterated that his government would focus on regional security, free movement of goods and people, the strengthening of regional bodies and place a premium on equality of nations. He also stated that his administration would engage traditional economic powers, including the United States, the United Kingdom and other European nations as well as emerging economic power houses such as China, Brazil, India and Russia.

Questions have been raised regarding the motives and benefits of the President’s foreign trips. In fact late last year, the media was awash with reports that President Kenyatta had made around 43 trips in his three years in power.

A deluge of bashing immediately followed this revelation. Unfortunately this criticism was driven by lack of understanding of the benefit these foreign trips have accrued to Kenya.

For example, when President Uhuru visited China in 2015, he secured a $1.5 billion (Sh150 billion) loan for the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway from Nairobi to Naivasha, with an industrial park along the railway line as icing on the cake. This will offer youth employment in line with the Jubilee manifesto’s pledge on employment creation.

In addition, during his trip to South Africa for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China’s President Xi Jinping offered the continent $60 billion.

Kenya, as a role model within Africa in economic growth, stands to benefit from the money meant to finance growth over the next three years. China also offered Kenya Sh4.5 billion for the construction of a conference centre at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

When the President and his delegation visited the US in August 2014, America made a commitment to renew trade and investment in Africa to the tune of $33 billion. In the same trip former US First Lady Laura Bush announced a kitty worth $37 billion to support programmes targeting women and the youth in Africa from which Kenya is benefiting.

MasterCard in partnership with Equity Bank also pledged to support 15,000 students from Africa. In addition, President Obama announced $ 7billion in new financing under the “Doing Business in Africa” campaign that will support US trade and investment in the continent.

It is also important to appreciate the fact that youthful leaders are generally associated with aggressive foreign policy; they tend to push the envelope to extents that would otherwise be uncomfortable for older politicians.

For example founding President Jomo Kenyatta, who got into power at a much advanced age, did not fly out of Kenya after the 1964 Commonwealth Heads of State and Government Meeting, which he attended as Prime Minister.

However, Kenya’s second President Moi, who was much younger when he got into office, toured literally every continent. In contrast again Kenya’s third President Mwai Kibaki hardly travelled, having come into office when he was quite elderly.

Has Kenya been viewed in a better light within the three years of Jubilee’s rule?

In 2015 alone Kenya hosted President Obama, Italian PM Matteo Renzi and the Pope. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s maiden state visit was to Kenya. This tells you what a strategic nation we have become internationally. This is all due to the foreign policy being implemented by the Jubilee government.

Additional results of this foreign policy include Kenya hosting the 10th World Trade Organisation ministerial conference; the first time this conference has been held in Africa. In terms of business opportunities Kenya hosted the America Global Entrepreneurship Summit; Toyota Kenya opened a Sh500 million (US$5.5 million) assembly plant in Mombasa as Honda opened a Sh450 million motorcycle assembly plant.

The benefits continue. In 2016 Kenya expects to host the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) where all African heads of state are expected to attend. This conference has been held in Japan since 1993.

Kenya will have the privilege to be the first African country to host the conference. This is another example of the country’s rising profile in regional and world affairs.

Kenya is certainly better off under Jubilee’s aggressive foreign policy. I would urge Kenyans to pay heed to the words of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius who urged “pay no attention to what critics say, (for) a statue has never been erected to a critic”.