Foreign relations of Kenya
Kenya maintains relations with various countries around the world. Its closest ties are with its fellow Swahili-speaking neighbors in the African Great Lakes region. Swahili speaking neighbours mainly include countries in the East African Community such as Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. There's also the DRC which has a significant Swahili speaking population.
Kenya's relations with other states vary. The government of Ethiopia established political links in the colonial period with Kenya's then British administration, and today it is one of several national bodies with a diplomatic presence in Nairobi. Relations with Somalia have historically been tense, although there has been some military co-ordination against insurgents.
Elsewhere, the Kenyan government has political ties with China, India, Russia, and Brazil. It also maintains relations with Western countries, particularly the United Kingdom, although political and economic instabilities are often blamed on Western activities.
Africa
| Country | Formal relations established | Notes |
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| Burundi is a partner of Kenya in many areas, particularly trade, security, education, agriculture and energy. In 2011, both countries signed a comprehensive bilateral agreement to promote development and technology transfer in agriculture, livestock and fisheries development between them. During the Burundian ethnic clashes, a significant number of Burundians took up refuge in Kenya. Burundi, along with Kenya, is one of the Swahili-speaking states in the African Great Lakes region.
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| The DRC is a strategic partner of Kenya in many areas, particularly trade and security. The peace deal between the Government of the DRC and leaders of the M23 rebellion was brokered by multiple parties and was signed in Nairobi in late 2013. M23 was routed in a UN-backed offensive by government troops. Under the deal there would be no amnesty for those wanted for war crimes. The deal was hosted by Uhuru Kenyatta, the President of Kenya. By the end of 2014 both countries were to sign a Joint Commission for Cooperation. Under the agreement Kenya was to establish a consulate in Goma and DRC in Mombasa The deal would help deepen trade and investment between both countries. Both countries are inhabited by significant Swahili speaking populations, Swahili is the national language in both countries. Kenya and the DRC share some cultural similarities.
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| Relations between Kenya and Ethiopia date back to 1954, when the Ethiopian authorities under Haile Selassie I established an honorary consulate general in the British Kenya Colony. In 1961, prior to Kenya's independence, Ethiopia appointed its first ambassador to Kenya, and six years later Kenya opened an embassy in Addis Ababa. The border between the two countries is based on a treaty signed by Ethiopia and Kenya on 9 June 1970, which determines the present-day boundary, abrogating all previous boundary treaties. This border has been subjected to demarcation.
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| Kenya is a partner of Rwanda in many areas, particularly trade, security, education, agriculture and energy. It is estimated that there are about 100,000 Rwandese immigrants in Kenya. Both countries have on multiple occasions signed various memoranda of understanding. These MOUs involve co-operative technical assistance and development between the two countries. Kenya has a significant expat community in Rwanda.
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| Relations between Kenya and Somalia have historically been tense. Agitations over self-determination in the Somali-inhabited Northern Frontier District culminated in the Shifta War during the 1960s. Although the conflict ended in a cease-fire, Somalis in the region still identify and maintain close ties with their kin in Somalia. In October 2011, a coordinated operation between the Somali military and the Kenyan military began against the Al-Shabaab group of insurgents in southern Somalia. The mission was officially led by the Somali army, with the Kenyan forces providing a support role. In early June 2012, Kenyan troops were formally integrated into AMISOM.
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| South Sudan is a strategic partner of Kenya in many areas. Both countries have cultural similarities as many people from South Sudan lived in Kenya before independence. Kenya is said to have contributed a to South Sudan's independence. The Machakos Protocol signed in Kenya in 2002 saw a ceasefire signed between Sudan and the Southern Sudanese. It was the first of many agreements that led to the creation of Southern Sudan autonomous region which later on led to the independence of South Sudan in 2011. During the independence movement leaders of the freedom movement lived in Kenya. At the peak of the second Sudanese civil war Kenya hosted about 100,000 South Sudanese people.
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| Tanzania is a partner of Kenya in many areas, particularly trade, security, education, agriculture and energy. The first high commissions of Kenya in Tanzania and vice versa were opened after the independence of Kenya. However, after the breakup of the EAC in 1977 both countries severed diplomatic ties. The breakup of the first EAC which was founded in 1967 was brought about by ideological differences between Tanzania and Kenya. As it was during the cold war African countries were making decisions on whether to become socialist or capitalist. Kenya's leader Kenyatta was intent on making sure that Kenya wouldn't become socialist and Kenya stuck to capitalism. Tanzania on the other hand championed for Ujamaa, a major African socialist policy. Tanzania and Kenya resumed diplomatic ties in 1983. By that time, a lot of factors were slowing the idea of Ujamaa in Tanzania among them the war with Uganda and many other social factors. Today both countries enjoy healthy relations. Both countries are inhabited by the world's largest Swahili speaking populations, Swahili is the official and national language in both countries. Kenya and Tanzania share a lot of cultural similarities.
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| The two East African Community countries are partners in many areas, particularly in the trade, infrastructure, security, education, agriculture and energy sectors. From 1961 to 1965, the two states along with Tanzania were united in the East African Common Services Organisation, a common market with a loose federal structure. Kenya and Uganda were also founding members of the original East African Community, which later collapsed due to ideological differences and territorial disputes within itself. On 7 July 2000, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania reestablished the EAC. It has contributed a great deal in improving trade and overall relations between Kenya and Uganda. The countries are both inhabited by significant Swahili-speaking populations, and share significant cultural similarities.
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Americas
| Country | Formal relations established | Notes |
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| December 1970 | ||
| 1976 | Jamaica and Kenya established relations in 1976. President Kenyatta made a state visit in August 2019. He met and held talks with Prime Minister Holness. Kenyatta was the main guest for the celebration of the 57th Independence Day Jamaica. Both leaders also launched the celebrations to mark the International Decade for People of African Descent.
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| 15 March 1977 | ||
| 12 December 1963 | After Kenya's independence on 12 December 1963, the United States immediately recognized the new nation and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The embassy in Nairobi was opened on 12 December 1963.
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Asia
| Country | Formal relations established | Notes |
| Both countries established diplomatic relations on 13 July 1993. | ||
| Both countries established diplomatic relations on 13 July 1993. | ||
Chinese-Kenyan relations date back to 14 December 1963, two days after the formal establishment of Kenyan independence, when China became the fourth country to open an embassy in Nairobi. Military exchange between the two countries has been increasing in the past decade. General Liu Jingsong, commander of the Lanzhou Military Region, led China's first military delegation to Kenya in December 1996; Major General Nick Leshan, commander of the Kenyan air force, paid a return visit in 1997. Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki visited Beijing in August 2005.
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Relations between Pakistan and Kenya were established in the 1960s, when Pakistan expressed its support for Kenya in obtaining independence from British rule. Ever since, relations between the two nations have been warm; with both countries having had discussed previously in the Pakistan-Kenya Joint Ministerial Commission session which was hosted in Nairobi in 2004, about boosting bilateral trade and economic relations.
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| The Philippines and Kenya have forged a historic agreement to strengthen ties between both countries. Under a Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation
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| 7 February 1964 | Diplomatic relations between the South Korea and Kenya were established on 7 February 1964. | |
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Europe
| Country | Formal relations established | Notes |
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| 13 December 1963 | ||
| In 1895, Britain established the East Africa Protectorate, centred in present-day Kenya and the larger African Great Lakes region. Four years later, the British founded the settlement of Nairobi as a simple rail depot on the railway linking Mombasa to Uganda. The town quickly grew to become the capital of British East Africa in 1905, with Lieutenant Colonel J. Hayes Sadler as the first governor and commander in chief. In 1920, the East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British crown colony, the Kenya Colony. In 1952, the present Queen, Elizabeth II, ascended the throne while visiting Kenya on her and the Duke of Edinburgh's tour of the British Empire and Commonwealth. Two years later, Britain founded the Nairobi Securities Exchange as a voluntary association of stockbrokers in the European community registered under the Societies Act. Kenya was granted independence in 1963, and relations with Britain have remained constant. Kenya is a part of the Commonwealth of Nations, a successor to the empire which aims to promote mutual co-operation, democracy and other cultural values and ties with each member state.
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Oceania
| Country | Formal relations established | Notes |
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Kenya and the Commonwealth of Nations
Kenya has been a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations since 1963, when it became independent. The nation became a Commonwealth republic in 1964.Kenya is also a member of the UN and hosts the UN Office in Nairobi, which is the UN Headquarters in Africa. The office was established in 1996.