Dear Mr President,
Soon, you will be making a high-profile state visit to the United States, the first of its kind for any African president under President Joe Biden. It is, without doubt, a great honour to be accorded such a rare privilege. It boosts your profile, as well as that of the country.
But Mr President, that’s where the glory ends and hard work begins. Having been in the space for a long time, I am sure you are well informed of the short supply of altruism in the international system. I have no doubt that you are grounded in the primacy of national interest as the driving force in international relations.
That you have been accorded that rare privilege ahead of your 54 counterparts has little, if any, to do with the love that President Biden has for you. It has everything to do with the love the Americans have for what Kenya stands to offer them.
Why the US is enamoured of Kenya is no secret. There are observable geostrategic, security and economic interests. Kenya’s relative stability in a troubled region makes the country a prized asset. There is no gainsaying Kenya’s (potential) role in calming the troubled East and Horn of Africa region; from Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Recent high-profile visits by the US security sector leadership, including the head of the Central Intelligence Agency and Cabinet Secretary for Defense, speak to this. The US is wary of the implication to its interests if the region were to collapse under the heavy weight of instability. The US will certainly seek to ground and firm up this interest.
Economic interest, arguably not as pronounced, is slowly gaining currency. This is partly evidenced by the most recent engagement in Nairobi by the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa.
President Biden will most likely discuss how to secure more opportunities for US investments. He will most likely raise with you concerns around corruption. The US’s 2024 National Trade Estimate Report flagged corruption challenges faced by US investors seeking opportunities in Kenya.
But Mr President, in as much as the US enjoys disproportionate leverage, I believe Kenya does have some cards to shuffle. It’s geostrategic location, its economy and the shifting global power dynamics offer you room to drive a semblance of fair bargain on Kenya’s behalf.
Particularly for the global power shift, the Solomon Islands presents a lesson on how even tiny states can scale the heights of global interest. Twenty times smaller than Kenya, and with a population of less than one million, Solomon Islands has recently been at the centre of intense US-China rivalry for global dominance.
I am sure, Mr President, you already have your plan fully developed. I hold no intention to advise you on how to proceed. I nevertheless feel compelled to express my desire for what I wish to be on the list.
Nationally, I hope to hear concrete prospects and roadmap for the US-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership and the African Growth and Opportunity Act. AGOA’s renewal has attracted bipartisan interest, with two senators from the two sides recently originating legislation for the purpose. It might be of interest to hear the Executive’s feel on the same.
Security might be an area of convergence of interest. Depending on how well you address corruption-related concerns, you may make a pitch for increased foreign direct investments. Please do not forget about diaspora management. The US remains Kenya’s leading source of diaspora remittances. I need not belabour climate change.
You may, as a professed pan-Africanist, want to venture outside Kenya’s national interest. If you do, try your best to push for US intervention in Africa’s forgotten conflicts. If the US were to dedicate only half focus on DRC and Sudan as it has in the Middle East and Ukraine, the impact would be immediate.
And do not forget to push for institutional reforms to reflect the emerging global order. The United Nations and Bretton Woods should be the immediate targets on this.