Kenya’s Top Diplomat Star Continues To Shine Brightly

The announcement by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday nominating Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amb. Amina Mohamed for the position of African Union chairperson comes as no surprise to many.

The CS has since 2013 played a pivotal role in President Kenyatta’s administration. Ms Mohamed will now face it off with Agapito Mba Mokuy of Equatorial Guinea, Abdoulaye Bathily of Senegal and Botswana’s Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi for the highly coveted and powerful continental position.

Born in 1961, Ms Amina has had an illustrious career, having worked as a Deputy Executive Director at the United Nations before joining the Kenyan cabinet in 2013.

She has also previously served as Chairwoman of the International Organization for Migration and the World Trade Organisation’s General Council.

Under Ms Amina’s tenure at the helm of the foreign office, Kenya has benefitted from a number of high-profile visits from powerful global leaders as well as playing host to several international conferences.

Most notably were the visits of US President Barack Obama and Pope Francis last year. Other leaders who have visited the country in the last few months include Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Indian PM Narendra Modi, and South Korean President Park Geun Hye.

Kenya has already hosted the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the World Trade Organisation ministerial conference.

Her persuasive shuttle diplomacy gave rise to a united African coalition that vehemently opposed the trial of African leaders at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands.

The panel recruiting the AU chairperson is set to soon circulate a list of those who want to be elected in readiness for the election in January 2017.