The announcement came as Kenya's President William Ruto embarked on a historic state visit to the US to discuss with President Joe Biden the much-awaited deployment to the Caribbean nation and other bilateral issues. Kenya becomes just the fourth African nation to attain the status, and the first in sub-Saharan Africa, cementing Kenya’s status as one of the US’s closest allies on the continent. As a non-Nato ally, Kenya will have privileged access to sophisticated military equipment, training and loans to augment defence spending. The elevated security status could improve Kenya’s focus on intelligence gathering and strategic deployments. The non-Nato ally status remarkably upgraded the militaries of Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 24, 2024 11:57 UTC