Foreign travel necessary to secure low-cost project financing

When President Uhuru Kenyatta decides to pen down his memoirs, 2015 will most likely feature prominently as one of his best years — as the Romans would say, his annus mirabilis (“wonderful year”).

This is in stark contrast to 2014, an annus horribilis (“horrible year”) on account of a long winter of grievance and protest politics when many innocent Kenyans fell to violent extremists, cattle rustlers, bandits and deadly Somali clan wars.

Saliently, a robust war against corruption — involving government, opposition and private sector actors alike — dominated local debates in 2015. But 2015 is likely to be remembered as the year when Kenya shook off the threat of global isolation before the 2013 election to emphatically extend its profile as an assertive pivotal state, a regional economic powerhouse and a leading global nation.

With this in mind, Kenyatta’s 2015 memoir is unlikely to be a mere travelogue. It will be the story of a dynamic African state strategically positioning itself in the fast-moving 21st century.

Trips to foreign lands are backed by the wisdom of the ages by builders of empires and nations. Today, they are a dominant feature of globalisation in the 21st century.

Manifestly, Kenyatta is the most travelled of Kenya’s four presidents. By mid-December 2015, he had made 44 trips to foreign countries. Since his swearing-in on April 9, 2013, Kenyatta has visited nearly 20 countries across the world.

His trips are, however, a pale shadow of travels by other prominent world leaders. As of December 2015, Barack Obama has visited over 50 states, some more than six times.

Far from being a drain to the economy, state visits are integral to dynamic statecraft. As St Augustine noted, rather sagely, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” Travels underpin the idea of a common humanity on which our world rests. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness,” said Mark Twain.

From the economist and philosopher, Adam Smith, we learn that international networks are key to creating the “wealth of nations”.

Primarily, economic interests drive foreign trips. Jubilee’s Africa-centred approach to development is behind Kenya’s international trips. As such, projects under the Northern Corridor such as the Standard Gauge Railway are behind Kenyatta’s numerous trips to Kampala and Kigali.

Continentally, because of its trips to Africa, Kenya has built more bilateral ties with diverse African countries than ever before in its history. But South Africa is still ahead of the pack with economic-oriented embassies and representation in all 54 African states.

Peace is Kenya’s most valuable asset. Peace has attracted many multinational corporations to set up their headquarters in Nairobi, leading to massive investments and new jobs for Kenyans. For the same reason, Nairobi is the United Nations Capital in the Global South. Kenyatta attended and addressed many UN forums, including the UN General Assembly in New York in 2014 and 2015.

Kenya has to invest in peacemaking. This has required attending talks in and outside Africa to build peace in warring countries such as Burundi, South Sudan, Central Africa Republic and Somalia. Kenya has its troops in South Sudan and Somalia.

As Burundi faces a meltdown, Kenyatta recently dispatched his Special Envoy, Dr Karanja Kibicho, to the country to help stem the crisis.

Like other developing countries, Kenya has invested in external travel to secure low-cost finances for its mega developments and multi-billion-dollar investments. With the rise of China and other BRICS powers, Kenyatta visited Russia and China in August 2013.

He signed agreements on tourism, sports and cultures and air services with the Russians and the financing of the standard gauge railway with the Chinese.

On December 4-5, 2015, Kenyatta clinched another $1.5 billion (Sh150 billion) Chinese loan for the extension of the SGR from Nairobi to Naivasha in 2017 during his trip to South Africa where he attended the Summit of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation.

Earlier on in October 2015, Kenyatta held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the future of Kenya-India economic cooperation.

Kenya’s foreign trips are also deepening its relations with the West. During the US-Africa Summit in Washington DC in August 2014, the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation committed $250 million (Sh24b) to finance the construction of a 310 megawatt wind power project near Lake Turkana.

Kenya also began discussions with America’s Delta Airlines over direct flights from Nairobi to the US.

Trips to the Arab countries such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have led to a new set of deals, including the employment of 100,000 young Kenyans, establishment of a Nairobi International Financial Services Centre and the construction of a 500MW power plant in Mombasa.

DESTINATION OF CHOICE

Inversely, in 2015 Kenya was a favourite destination of high-ranking global leaders. Nairobi hosted 16 Foreign/Trade ministers and high-level delegations.

During his visit in May 2015, US Secretary of State John Kerry offered Kenya Sh9.6 billion to combat extremism. Kerry paved the way for the July 24-27, 2015 historic visit by US President Barack Obama. Kenya was also the first stop on Pope Francis’ first visit to Africa on November 25-30, 2015.

Africa’s first female president, Ellen Sirleaf Johnson of Liberia, also visited the country on December 18, 2015. The future of Kenya’s diplomacy looks even brighter.

In 2016, Kenya is set to host the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, the first time the conference is being held in Africa.

Prof Kagwanja is chief executive, Africa Policy Institute