President Uhuru, UK Foreign Secretary discuss security, defence

President Uhuru Kenyatta and UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond met on Friday to discuss greater UK – Kenya cooperation on defence, security and commercial issues.

The visit followed Hammond’s visit to Kenya in March 2015, and marked a further significant step in the partnership between Kenya and the United Kingdom, based on shared interests of security, trade and regional cooperation.

The Foreign Secretary held a Ministerial Level Security Dialogue – alongside Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ambassador Amina Mohamed, Cabinet Secretary for Defence Raychelle Omamo, and Cabinet Secretary for Internal Security Joseph Nkaissery – focusing on tackling the shared threat of terrorism and building upon the UK-Kenya Security Compact signed in September 2015.

Mr. Hammond also held discussions at the National Treasury on strengthening trade relations between Kenya and the UK.   This follows the recent signature of a Memorandum of Understanding on Renewable Energy Cooperation between the two countries aimed at increasing UK companies’ engagement in renewable energy projects in Kenya.

The UK and Kenya signed a new Security Compact in September 2015 at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The compact builds upon and strengthens existing security co-operation across areas such as Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), Border and Aviation Security and Criminal Justice.

They also signed a MoU for renewable energy cooperation in May 2016. The MoU promotes opportunities for private sector trade and investment by the UK in Kenya’s renewable energy sector, and gives Kenyan firms access to UK Export Finance (UKEF) funding worth Ksh 36 billion.

The UK is Kenya’s second largest export market outside East Africa, and is at the forefront of key industries including horticulture, hydrocarbon development, finance and telecoms. Bilateral trade between the UK and Kenya is worth over £1.2 billion (Ksh 175 Billion) annually.