Parliament to play a crucial role in shaping Kenya’s Foreign Policy: Mudavadi

Mudavadi stated that Kenya’s national interests and diplomatic engagements have evolved, which calls for a review of the country's 2014 foreign policy.

He added that Parliament must ensure Kenya develops a comprehensive, coherent, and contextually relevant foreign policy framework for the future.

“Our collaborative efforts with Parliament—through treaty ratification, budgetary oversight, legislative influence on foreign policy, and vetting key appointments such as ambassadors—form the cornerstone of our foreign policy review process. This partnership is invaluable in crafting a policy that truly reflects the aspirations and priorities of our nation,” he said.

Mudavadi spoke during a consultative session with the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations in Nairobi.

He emphasized that Parliament, as a representative of the people, should help project Kenya as a nation with a clear foreign policy that also addresses Kenyans' aspirations.

“Parliament should help us establish the key pillars that anchor our foreign policy and determine how they will strengthen our position when interacting with international partners,” he said.

“Kenya wants to have strong partnerships, especially in economic diplomacy. What should be our guidelines, and how do we get the best value from our engagements? These are some of the fundamental questions Parliament should help us address in this review process,” he added.

Mudavadi further noted that as Kenya strives to establish a free market and attract foreign direct investment, Parliament, through its legislative role, should help shape the policy to meet these objectives.

He also stressed the need to define various components to be anchored in the policy, ranging from the equitable allocation of opportunities, and promoting transparency in engagements with international partners, to elaborating on the benefits of joining regional and international blocs like the G-20, G-7, and BRICS.

“This policy should go beyond the conventional setup and interrogate critical issues, such as what framework will be used when making diplomatic appointments. Should we prioritize career diplomats over political appointees or focus on the upcoming youthful cadets?” he remarked.

“How are we going to fund the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and what are the public’s expectations regarding how the ministry delivers its services?” he asked.

Mudavadi urged Parliament to make Kenya’s foreign policy more inclusive and citizen-centred.

The final document is expected to be presented to President William Ruto by the end of this month, ahead of the launch in December.

“Our foreign policy review process will culminate in a sessional paper that will be tabled in Parliament for deliberations. In this way, we intend to achieve two objectives. First, as a Ministry, we shall be able to present our case to Parliament for adequate funding to effectively run our missions and cater to the welfare of our foreign service. Second, Parliament, as a potent representative of the people, will help involve the Kenyan people in the development of our foreign policy,” he said.

The review process aims to amend and enrich the 2014 Kenya foreign policy, which was anchored on peace diplomacy, economic diplomacy, environmental diplomacy, diaspora diplomacy, and cultural diplomacy, to broaden it to reflect emerging issues and trends, such as global health, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), space diplomacy, and digital diplomacy.