The tale of two neighbors and why Kenya must make smart economic moves

Kenya has two neighbors- Ethiopia and Tanzania- that are worlds apart. Coincidentally, one of these neighbors is in the north and the other to the south. It seems like an act of God how these neighbors are worlds apart in their attitude towards Kenya. Let us start with Ethiopia.

Of all the neighbours Kenya shares borders with, Ethiopia is the most genial since pre-independence days. Last February, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigned and the ruling party, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, appointed Abiy Ahmed to replace him. Interestingly, and perhaps what went unnoticed, is that Dr Abiy Ahmed chose Kenya for his first foreign visit as premier. Now, in diplomatic speak, the first country that a head of government or state chooses to visit first points to reverence with which his administration treats that country.