Kenya
-- Foreign Relations
Kenya's
foreign policy is best seen in terms
of its political and economic moderation
and of its continuing reliance on
the Western world. Its most significant
international affiliations are with
the East African Community, the
Organization of African Unity and
the Commonwealth of Nations.
Kenya,
Uganda and Tanzania have made two
attempts to unite in a regional
organization since they gained independence.
In each case, the nations sought
a loose federation underpinned by
an economic common market. In 1961,
the three countries formed the East
African Common Services Organization
(EACSO), in which a shared and centralized
administration was to provide services,
including transportation, communication,
tax collection, scientific research,
social services and university education.
The EACSO charter was also to create
a common currency, a common appellate
court, and a common market in which
goods and labor could circulate
freely. These were to be directed
by a central legislative assembly.
By 1965, the EACSO began to come
apart due to growing tendencies
toward nationalism and diverging
economic and political policies.
In 1967, a new organization was
founded under the rubric of the
East African Community (EAC), established
under the Treaty for East African
Cooperation. This time, Tanzania's
move toward socialism and Uganda's
national misfortunes under the brutal
regime of Idi Amin led to the dissolution
of the cooperative effort. By 1977,
the community was inoperative and
by 1983, it was formally dissolved.
Relations among the countries improved
when the community's assets were
redistributed and when relations
with Tanzania improved in the wake
of the agreement. But new tensions
arose in the late 1980's when Uganda
accused Kenya of supporting opponents
of Uganda's government and when
Kenya responded by alleging that
Uganda had conducted incursions
into Kenyan territory.
By
the early 1990's, however, a push
for regional integration was again
making itself felt. The presidents
of Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya held
a conference about reestablishing
cooperation in Arusha, Tanzania
in November 1993. A permanent tri-national
commission, once again named the
East African Cooperation (EAC),
was inaugurated in March 1996, whose
first secretary-general, Francis
Muthaura, was Kenyan. This cooperative
effort was more modest in its ambitions,
mainly emphasizing cooperation in
transport, energy, the management
of Lake Victoria and cross-border
trade. Uganda and Tanzania are presently
the two leading export markets,
with Kenyan manufacturers the principal
beneficiaries. The nations' three
currencies are now convertible,
and in April 1997 the three presidents
oversaw the introduction of an EAC
flag and passport. Accords on tariffs
are being discussed, and discussions
of monetary policy are being conducted
by the nations' central bank governors.[1]
Kenya's
relations with its neighbors to
the north have been far less harmonious.
North-eastern Kenya has been a source
of conflict because Somalia has
traditional claims on the territory;
a large ethnic Somali population
has also led to instability. Somalia's
irredentist claims on this region
were a serious threat to Kenya in
the 1960's. For four years, Somali
guerrillas known as shiftas waged
a campaign against the Kenyan police
and army through incursions and
by means of the Voice of Somali
radio based in Mogadishu. This tense
predicament was eased when the Somali
government changed in 1967, but
it revived in 1977 when Somali-Ethiopian
warfare once again placed the area
in contention after Kenya supported
Ethiopia in the Ogaden war. The
predicament was exacerbated when
Kenya's relations with Arab nations
worsened after Kenya seized an Egyptian
plane transporting arms to the Somali
forces. Tensions have since died
down; reflecting this, President
Moi made an unprecedented visit
to Mogadishu in 1984 to negotiate
border claims aand promote trade
cooperation
Kenya's
most significant ally in the West
is Great Britain. The two nations
have maintained uninterrupted friendly
relations since independence. Britain
remains Kenya's principal trading
partner, its chief source of economic
and military assistance, and its
major provider of private investment
capital. The British government
has traditionally practiced "quiet
diplomacy" with Kenya, a policy
it considers to bring about the
greatest influence on Kenya.
Relations
with the United States, which were
uneasy during Oginga Odinga's ascendancy,
have improved since Odinga's fall
in 1966. In 1980, Kenya and the
US signed an agreement to permit
the American military to use Kenyan
sea and air bases in exchange for
economic and military assistance.
The US presence in Kenya now consists
of over 5,000 American citizens.
An active USAID and Peace Corps
program in Kenya has further increased
this presence, as have growing American
business interests. Over 125 US
firms are represented in Kenya,
bringing in an
investment
of over $200 million. Past relations
with the Soviet Union and China,
by contrast, have been cool and
tentative, and have been marred
by a number of diplomatic incidents.[2]
Kenya
joined the United Nations at Independence
in 1963, and is presently a member
of 15 UN organizations and 22 other
international organizations.
[1]
The Economist Intelligence Unit,
1998, Country Profile. Kenya, The
Unit:
London,
p. 10.
[2]
Kurian, George Thomas 1992. Encyclopedia
of the Third World, fourth edition,
volume
III, Facts on File: New York, N.Y.,
p. 976.
