News
Biden To Extend ‘Major Non-NATO Ally’ Status To Kenya, What This Means
Kenya will become the first sub-Saharan nation to receive the designation, which allows the recipient country to obtain more sophisticated weaponry from the United States and engage in closer security cooperation.

Kenya is set to get a major boost in its military capabilities after reports that President Joe Biden will be extending major non-NATO ally status to Kenya during the three-day state visit by President William Ruto.
American publication, Politico has confirmed the plans citing senior U.S. officials.
Kenya will become the first sub-Saharan nation to receive the designation, which allows the recipient country to obtain more sophisticated weaponry from the United States and engage in closer security cooperation.
This could give the U.S.-Kenya relationship more leverage given their lengthened military cooperation in counterterrorism operations against Al Shabaab and other global terrorist organizations that have for decades been attacking Kenya.
Kenya has participated in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group and an international maritime task force launched by the Biden administration in December in response to Houthi attacks against vessels operating in the Red Sea.
While Biden is yet to travel to Africa, Washington continued worry over Chinese influence in the continent remains clear and this latest move could further consolidate its intentions to keep its grip on the region with Kenya being a strategic partner.
The designation of Kenya as a major non-NATO ally comes when the preparations for Kenya to deploy police officers to Haiti as part of U.N.-led effort to address the security crisis in the Caribbean country has hit fever pitch and already bases are being set up for their arrival.
Some 1,000 Kenyan police officers are set to arrive soon in Haiti, part of a multilateral security support mission that aims to help quell gang violence. Other countries expected to back up Kenyan forces include the Bahamas, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Bangladesh.
Ruto’s decision to send police forces to Haiti was welcomed by Biden administration officials as an unprecedented undertaking and a show of global leadership by Kenya.
Kenya will become the 19th country to be named a major non-NATO ally, the most recent addition since Biden bestowed the title on Qatar in March 2022. Three other countries on the African continent — Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia — have already gained the status.
The U.S. is not treaty-bound to come to such a country’s defense as it would be with actual NATO allies. But the designation, according to the State Department, provides “certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation.
Kenya will join the list of other non-NATO allies including Japan, South Korea, Australia, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Argentina, New Zealand, Thailand, and Pakistan, among others.
Kenya Insights allows guest blogging, if you want to be published on Kenya’s most authoritative and accurate blog, have an expose, news TIPS, story angles, human interest stories, drop us an email on [email protected] or via Telegram
-
News5 days ago
Plane Carrying Raila Odinga Becomes World’s Most Tracked Flight as Kenya Airways Honors Him With Special Call Sign ‘RAO001’
-
News1 week ago
Former Nairobi CEC Newton Munene Found Dead as Sonko Alleges Cartel Involvement
-
News5 days ago
I Used To Sleep Hungry, But Today I Employ The Same People Who Once Laughed At My Poverty
-
Investigations5 days ago
Kwale Sugar Faces Liquidation Guillotine as Supreme Court Slams Door on Last-Ditch Rescue Bid
-
News4 days ago
Maurice Ogeta, Raila’s Bodyguard: The Shadow Who Became The Story
-
News1 week ago
Inside 17 Minutes: CCTV Footage Reveals Murdered State House Guard Was Well Known to The Killer
-
News1 week ago
Four Arrested In JKIA Cocaine Cartel Crackdown
-
News7 days ago
Court Fines Orengo’s Law Firm For Wrongful Dismissal of Lawyer