United States President Joe Biden has officially designated Kenya a major Non-NATO ally.
The designation comes a few weeks after President William Ruto's state visit to the US.
"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2321k) (the “Act”),
"I hereby designate Kenya as a Major Non-NATO Ally of the United States for the purposes of the Act and the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.)," a presidential determination dated June 24 reads.
It was during the state visit that Biden announced his intention to have Kenya as a major non-NATO Ally.
NATO which stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation currently has 32 member countries, called NATO allies.
This historic move by Biden marks a significant milestone for Kenya as it becomes the first sub-Saharan African nation to receive this status and the fourth in Africa.
Others are Egypt awarded by former President Ronald Reagan (1987), Morocco by George W. Bush (2004), and Tunisia by Barack Obama in 2015.
The White House said this prestigious designation is granted by the US to countries with which it maintains close and strategic military and defence relationships.
"The US holds deep respect for Kenya’s substantial contributions to global peace and security," it said.
For decades, strong security cooperation between the two nations has played a pivotal role in maintaining stability in East Africa and beyond.
As a non-Nato ally, Kenya will have privileged access to sophisticated military equipment, training and loans to augment defence spending.
However, the US is under no obligation to provide it with direct military assistance and Kenya is not mandated to send troops for Nato operations.
Countries under this status receive various military and financial advantages but do not have the mutual defence commitments that NATO members have under Article 5 of the NATO treaty.
They are also eligible for loans of material, supplies, or equipment for cooperative research, development, testing, or evaluation purposes.
It is also eligible as a location for US-owned War Reserve Stockpiles to be placed on its territory outside of US military facilities.
