- The talks were founded on the mutual cooperation, respect and a common vision for sustainable development between the two nations.
- CS Mutua requested continued technical support and assistance in ICT, agro-processing, apparel and pharmaceutical sectors.
Image: ALFRED MUTUA/TWITTER
Foreign and Diaspora Affairs CS Alfred Mutua on Monday held the third US-Kenya Bilateral Strategic Dialogue with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
The talks were founded on the mutual cooperation, respect and a common vision for sustainable development between the two nations.
The meeting was held at the US Department of State in Washington DC.
They discussed strengthening the bilateral relationship across all five pillars of the Strategic Partnership and advancing peace and prosperity in Kenya, Africa and beyond.
The pillars include Economic Prosperity, Trade and Investment where the leaders committed to further the two-way trade and investment cooperation.
This will be done through the Kenya-US Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership and by prioritising economic and commercial programmes.
"Through these joint efforts, the United States and Kenya seek to work to create at least one million new jobs per year in Kenya and greatly reduce food insecurity over the next five years," a statement released by the US Department of State reads.
CS Mutua requested continued technical support and assistance in ICT, agro-processing, apparel and pharmaceutical sectors.
On Defense Cooperation, Kenya and the US renewed their commitment to implement instruments signed during the 2022 Bilateral Defense Forum.
The deal includes a five-year security cooperation plan to enhance Kenya's capabilities to counter violent extremist organisations, promote regional security, advance maritime surveillance and bolster Kenyan military academic institutions.
The US commended Kenya for its role in enhancing stability in Somalia and the DRC.
It pledged to seek to increase military aviation capabilities of the KDF in support of the peace efforts.
The two governments further committed to increase Kenya's capabilities at the Kenyan Military Airfield in Manda Bay to counter al Shabaab and support the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia.
The US also committed to completing the $5 million (Sh678,250,000) Counter Insurgency, Terrorism and Stability Operations Center.
The third pillar was on Democracy, Governance and Civilian Security.
Blinken and Mutua underscored their government's respect for democratic principles.
They highlighted the August 2022 elections as free and fair and that were credible and peaceful as well as Kenya's democratic transition.
The two governments renewed their commitment to fostering accountable and effective democratic institutions, strengthening the rule of law and respect for human rights and addressing governance and fiscal transparency.
US committed to continue supporting Kenya's efforts to strengthen police reforms and accountability.
The countries also committed to continue standing together against the illegal exploitation of wildlife caused by international organised crime, and to continue robust cooperation on counter-terrorism within Kenya and the region.
They pledged to explore cooperation on developing and strengthening the capacity of the Kenyan judiciary.
Further, US committed to continue to partner with Kenyan law enforcement agencies and judicial institutions to build capacity to disrupt, respond to and investigate corruption cases, acts of terrorism and transnational organised crimes.
The two sides pledged to support a forensics programme with the goal of increasing Kenya's ability to collect, analyse, and preserve evidence in counterterrorism investigations and prosecutions.
They also committed to expand their partnership to defend against common cyber threats, reaffirmed their mutual commitment to an open, interoperable, reliable and secure internet and announced their intent to convene a second US-Kenya Cyber and Digital Dialogue later in the year.
On multilateral and regional issues, they pledged to continue to work together to address instability in the Horn of Africa and beyond.
This includes response to the growing humanitarian needs stemming from food insecurity and forced displacement.
The US pledged to continue to assist Kenya as it responds to the unprecedented drought and resulting food insecurity highlighting the more than $500 million (Sh67,850,000,000) in humanitarian assistance it has provided over 2022.
The two countries also committed to work together to promote durable solutions including peace building efforts and to explore the Humanitarian Development-Peace (HDP) nexus which is key to voluntary, dignified and sustainable returns to countries of origin.
In conclusion, the leaders made commitments on health cooperation.
They acknowledged that the longstanding US-Kenya health partnership has made significant progress in combating communicable and non-communicable diseases.
There are ongoing collaborations in strengthening health systems and management of HIV, TB, malaria, immunisation, family planning and reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH).
They noted that through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the MoH's combined efforts, Kenya is on track to achieve President William Ruto's goal of HIV/AIDS epidemic control by 2025 and sustained epidemic control that is Kenya-owned, Kenya-driven, and Kenya-funded.
The Global Health Security Intensive Support Partnership continues to strengthen Kenya's laboratory capacity, expand and train Kenya's health workforce and enable early and accurate detection of diseases.
The two governments welcomed the ongoing partnership between their national cancer institutes, which has significantly advanced global cancer research and improved Kenyans’ access to quality cancer care.
They agreed to continue joint efforts to strengthen and streamline Kenya's legal and regulatory framework to ensure transparency and accountability in the public health commodities supply chain.
This will increase access to affordable, quality medical commodities and equipment and support Kenya's ability to manufacture and export medical products.
Further, the US and Kenya committed to increase Kenya's domestic human vaccine and pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity.
This is including by incentivising foreign direct investment and skills transfer as well as operationalising the National Public Health Institute by officially establishing its role, responsibilities and authorities.