NAIROBI: Who would have imagined these scenes two years ago: A former American President in town visiting with local communities; followed thereafter by a US Secretary of State?
Relations between Kenya and the West, and particularly with the United States of America, have had a strong foundation from the days of the famous airlifts that saw Barack Obama Sr. go to study economics in Hawaii. From the relative trickle of the 1960s, thousands of young Kenyans travel to the United States every year, seeking an education with which to help build both countries. What most may not recall is that it was never a one-way traffic.
Thurgood Marshall, that distinguished American legal mind, visited Kenya and was one of the framers of the Constitution under which Kenya won independence. And there were others like him.
The independence Constitution survived for nearly half a century because it captured the aspirations of Kenyans, even at independence: equality under law, freedom of speech, the right to private property, and tolerance of different faiths. We share these values with Americans.
And where it matters, like in the Horn of Africa, Kenyans and Americans have stood together to defend these values. For example, Somalia where the partnership between Kenya and the US is slowly yielding peace and prosperity.
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Trade between Kenya and the US has been strong over the years. For example, by 2013, US-Kenya trade amounted to $1.1 billion, with Kenya exporting $451 million, and importing $651 million. The $451 million value of exports in 2013 represented a 16 per cent year-on-year increase. Given our location, our history, the dynamism of our people, the potential of our country and region, this trade can only grow.
The opportunities are numerous: in energy; in infrastructure; in agriculture, especially agro-processing; in tourism; in services, perhaps especially in retail; and in manufacturing and IT.
The US-Africa Leadership at which President Uhuru Kenyatta met three American Presidents; Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton, was an expression of this recognition and revitalised relationship.
These American presidents have had signature programmes on the continent. Mr Obama is presiding over one of the most ambitious infrastructure programmes ever attempted in Africa. Mr Bush presided over the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), which has saved many lives, and which has done much to turn the tide against HIV/Aids in Africa. In AGOA, President Bill Clinton left behind a substantial legacy of opportunity and trade between Africa and the US.
So therefore, has Kenya's foreign policy shifted its focus from West to East? Broadly, it is a false perception. Kenya's position remains as it has always been: seeking a balanced engagement with traditional friends, while taking advantage of new opportunities. Mr Kenyatta has always maintained that Kenya is not just the gateway to East Africa, but sits atop a region that is vital for both Kenya and America's safety and prosperity.
Kenya has been at the forefront of integration clearly understanding that it is the region's path to shared prosperity. Kenya supports the opening of borders to allow a joint customs union; has encouraged the drive towards political federation to free the movement of peoples, goods and services across the region. America ought to partner with Kenya particularly in the area of securing the homeland. Indeed, Mr Kerry agreed with Mr Kenyatta on the importance of security training, intelligence sharing, and regional peace initiatives.
In choosing these themes, each of great importance for the security and prosperity of the region, Kenya and America are revitalising their relationship. That strengthening of relations between Kenya and the US, as well as between the US and the region, will be taken a notch higher during President Obama's upcoming trip in July thus completing a cycle that began many years ago.
For we know that it is partnerships such as these that guarantee stability, bring prosperity, bolster our values, and protect and preserve the security of all of us.
