Economic diplomacy can unleash Kenya’s potential

In the past year, Kenya has hosted a series of high-level international forums and participated in strategic engagements with key bilateral and multilateral partners.

These engagements, including President William Ruto’s State visit to the United States in May and his spirited campaign for reforms of the international financial architecture, are part of Kenya’s economic diplomacy aimed at tapping global opportunities for the benefit of the Kenyan people.

More than ever before, the government is involved in building relationships that promote Kenya’s economic and social transformation, anchored on the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda.

Our innovative approach to diplomacy defines Kenya’s grand strategy in a rapidly evolving global environment. Strategic negotiations for bilateral trade and investment partnerships, including Kenya’s economic partnership with the European Union, are helping to expand opportunities for Kenyans in the global marketplace.

Moreover, being part of critical dialogue on multilateral and regional issues enhances prospects for our economy and our people to gain from a more connected world.

Our diplomats are no longer the old school foreign service officers who were just preoccupied with managing political relations to build trust or mend fences with other nations.

Bilateral negotiations

The latter-day diplomat is, ideally, a seasoned negotiator with a host of responsibilities including forging our strategic interests and lobbying for our position in multilateral forums. 

Gains from economic diplomacy can be realised immediately or in the near to longer term. President Ruto’s meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington DC yielded immediate commitments including capacity-building funding for police, anti-corruption and fighting international crime.

These programmes will enhance Kenya’s security and business climate, making our country more attractive for American and other international investors. We shall also reap new incomes, jobs and other benefits from US private sector operations in Kenya.

A landmark public-private partnership with a US-based private equity will support construction of a Sh480 billion ($3.6 billion) expressway connecting Mombasa and Nairobi.

This will expedite regional transport and trade through the Northern Corridor transport network that serves Kenya and its landlocked neighbors, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda.

Bilateral negotiations further enable us to resolve bottlenecks to trade, investment and movement of our people across borders with our neighboring countries.

Foreign policy

In February, Kenya and Ethiopia agreed to eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, thus resolving a long-standing problem that had constrained growth of trade between the two countries.

Critical engagements with other countries, including Somalia and Uganda, are also focused on expanding trade and investment opportunities for our people.

Kenya has also gained recognition as a strong crusader for world peace and security. We have stepped up our regional and global collaboration in tackling security threats from terrorism and violent extremism.

Kenya’s voice on regional conflicts in Sudan and other African countries, the Russia-Ukraine war, conflict in Gaza and our multinational security support mission to Haiti underline our commitment to bringing parties in conflict to the mediation table.

Our foreign policy also involves using our convening power as Eastern Africa’s economic and social hub to champion a fair, just and more equitable global economy.

We have a responsibility to amplify President Ruto’s campaign for reforming the international financial architecture, to make it more inclusive and supportive to Africa’s unique challenges, including its debt crisis and vulnerability to climate change.

Economic growth

Africa needs greater access to the international market, hence, our persistent lobby for the extension of the US Africa Growth and Opportunity Act beyond its expiry in September 2024.

We have further discharged this role by championing for more resources from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessional lending arm.

Hosting the IDA 21 African leaders summit in Nairobi in April 2024 was Kenya’s powerful statement to the international community to support an ambitious $120 billion IDA replenishment.

At the 59th annual meeting in Nairobi of the African Development Bank, President Ruto led African leaders in drumming up support for the African Development Fund’s 17th replenishment next year, which targets $25 billion to scale up social and economic development finance to the continent’s least developed countries. He also announced Kenya’s $20 million contribution to the fund.

Together, we can help unleash the catalytic power of our foreign policy in delivering economic growth and equitable distribution of opportunities. 

HE Dr Mudavadi is Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs