Since he took office in 2013 President Uhuru Kenyatta has take 92 trips in just 69 months just seven away from tripling the 33 his predecessor Mwai Kibaki undertook in his 10-year reign.
Out of the 92 President Kenyatta has visited 49 States visits which the Foreign Affairs ministry has defended, saying they had brought “immense benefits” to the country while the other 43 are those he attended either as treaty obligations like those of the East African Community, the African Union, Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the United Nations or as a courtesy to the host Head of State, like during swearing-ins.
According to Foreign affairs Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma while defending the trips said Kenya “could not have been at a better place globally if it were not for the trips.
In addition she said, “Out of these presidential trips, we have moved from a country where some countries were defining us as one where they deal only by limited essential contacts, to a most sought after global leader, whose premier diplomat is invited to the most prestigious global club, the G7, in a row, to being invited and hosting three permanent members of the United Nations Security Council in a span of 10 days.”
In his second term, the highlight of President Kenyatta’s global agenda so far were his meetings with US President Donald Trump in Washington DC, British Prime Minister Theresa May in Nairobi and Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing — all within seven days!
For President Kenyatta, Dr Juma said, the trips have become an essential part of the global diplomacy, with a clear focus on reciprocated benefits. “Every trip is bringing returns that are concrete and measurable.”