Prime CS and Minister for Foreign Affairs Musalia Madavadi has travelled to Washington DC for three days.
An alert by The Standard said PCS Mudavadi will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and represent President William Ruto at Prayer Breakfast on Thursday.
During the visit, he will hold talks on the Kenya-United States Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership, following the resumption of the negotiations this week.
Mudavadi’s visit to Washington comes three days after concluding his official trip to Beijing, China, where he held talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Following the talks, China and Kenya denounced US’s interference in domestic affairs under the banner of ‘Democracy and Human Rights’ in a joint statement signed by both Mudavadi and Wang.
The two ministers said they discussed bilateral and global issues, key among them the need for an equal and orderly multipolar world – a key agenda for Beijing – , reform of the international financial architecture – a talking point for President William Ruto – , UN Security Council reforms and resolution of peace and security challenges across the world.
“Both sides unanimously agree to uphold the universal values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom, and oppose interference in the internal affairs of other countries under the banner of “democracy and human rights,” the joint statement said.
The Kenya Kwanza administration has been seeking to strike a balance between the East and the West in its foreign policy agenda.
At the same time, the visit comes soon after a High Court decision termed the deployment of Kenya Police officers to Haiti as illegal.
The US has backed the process, pledging $100 million for the Kenya-led multinational deployment.
In September last year, Blinken announced the US would provide logistics, including intelligence, airlift, communications and medical support to the mission.
After the ruling, the State Department said the US reaffirms its support of the international efforts to deploy a Multinational Security Support mission for Haiti.
“The United States acknowledges the ruling by the Republic of Kenya’s High Court regarding the deployment of Kenyan police in support of the Multinational Security Support mission to Haiti and the Government of Kenya’s stated intent to challenge this ruling,” the statement added.
Principal Secretary Foreign Affairs Korir Sing’Oei said he disagrees with the ruling, in particular the “restrictive interpretation of the word “Forces” in Article 243 of the Constitution to exclude the Police”.
“Such a restrictive approach fails to appreciate the legislative history behind the differentiation between “Forces” and “Service” in the Katiba [Constitution]. However, by determining that police deployment abroad can take place on the basis of reciprocal arrangements, the Judgement doesn’t foreclose the Haiti Mission,” PS Korir said on X.
The Office of Government Spokesperson issued a statement saying the decision will be challenged at the Court of Appeal.
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