Kenya will be the first country in the Sub-saharan Africa to be designated as a non-NATO ally after United States president Joe Biden affirmed to action this pledge.
Biden made the announcement during a press conference at White saying he is planning to work with the congress to give Kenya the large symbolic title.
Biden’s pledge will make Kenya the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to hold the designation.
This was during Kenyan President William Ruto’s three-day visit to the US.
“Our joint counterterrorism operations have degraded ISIS [ISIL] and al-Shabab across East Africa, our mutual support for Ukraine has rallied the world to stand behind the UN Charter, and our work together on Haiti is helping pave the way to reduce instability and insecurity.” Biden said.
18 countries have been designated as non-NATO allies by the US including Israel, Brazil and the Philippines.
The label reflects Kenya’s rise from a regional partner that has long cooperated with US counterterrorism operations on the continent to a global influence.
The announcement came as Ruto and Biden held talks at the White House during the Kenyan leader’s state visit to the US, which began this week.
It is a designation that denotes a high level of trust, but falls short of involving commitments that full-fledged treaty allies agree to. In particular, this status would not bind the US and Kenya to mutual defence of each other, if either one of them were under attack.
A Major non-NATO ally (MNNA) refers to a country that is not part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), yet has a deep strategic and security partnership with the US.
The MNNA status entails certain economic and military benefits alongside benefits in areas of defence trade and security cooperation, but it “does not entail any security commitments to the designated country”, the US Department of State website says. The designation will allow Nairobi to buy military technologies that would be harder for other countries to obtain from Washington.
In addition to that, the State Department website enumerates other benefits, including; MNNAs are eligible for loans of materials and equipment for research, development or testing. US-owned War Reserve Stockpiles can be placed on MNNA territory.
Further, MNNAs can be considered for the purchase of depleted uranium ammunition.
Additionally, the allies can enter a formal agreement with the US Department of Defense to carry out research and development projects.
Also, firms of the MNNA can bid on contracts to repair and maintain US Defense Department equipment outside of the US.
The visit by Ruto marks 60 years of diplomatic ties and cooperation between the United States and Kenya.
It is the first trip by an African president since 2008.
The meeting dubbed Nairobi-Washington Vision comes as the US president is trying to appeal to the African continent that they are better on partnerships than China who have deepened their investment.
In the past year, Africa’s political landscape has been upended by a spate of military coups, wars and shaky elections that have given US rivals China and Russia more significant influence.
The White House talks also were held as a US-backed initiative to send a Kenya-led police force to crisis-hit Haiti appears to be solidifying.
Biden, who is seeking re-election in November, said he plans to visit the African continent in February should he win a second term.
