Diplomacy earns us international goodwill

The Singaporean diplomat and academic Chan Heng Chee wrote once that “Diplomacy is like banking: it is about building up a deposit of goodwill to use when necessary.”

We can learn from this that many of the fruits of diplomatic actions aren’t immediately ready for consumption. Rather, just like with a bank account, one has to work hard and add small rewards one by one, until they add up and can be used at the point that they are truly needed.

We should keep this saying in mind whenever we read about the diplomatic work of the Foreign Ministry and our government in general. President Kenyatta in particular has received much criticism for his diplomatic trips by populist commentators in newspapers and online. Because they are unable to see a direct and immediate profit for our country, they were convinced that these diplomatic missions for our future were futile.

But it is a well-known problem of small naysayers that they can rarely see and analyse the world in a strategic way. Their place will always be to snipe from the sidelines. They simply do not have what it takes to lead.

Uhuru, on the other hand, is made out of the same material as such legendary leaders as Nelson Mandela and Anwar Sadat. He is playing the long game, putting national interests above all else. Only historians will be able to truly judge his actions, as the consequences are so far still hidden from the eye, similar to a seedling’s roots that develop quietly underneath the earth in order to one day become a mighty tree.

Yet, there are some results which are already tangible, even today, and which every citizen can already discern. First and foremost, there is the African Continental Free Trade Arena (AfCFTA). Uhuru worked tirelessly to get this crucial agreement passed by all African nations.

While he is maybe the greatest pan-Africanist who is politically active today, his deep pan-Africanist convictions weren’t the only reason he used all his gravitas in the African Union (AU) to get the AfCFTA passed.

The President understands that in a globalising world growing ever closer and more intertwined, it is in the narrow interest of every African nation to form a strong, big and powerful economic bloc in order to compete and prevail against powerhouses such as China and the European Union.

In order to convince some more sceptical nations that the AfCFTA is in their interests as well, Uhuru had to use his incredible inter-personal skills and visit many other presidents all across the continent. While the sour and eternal critics might calculate the cost of every flight, it is much harder to show the numbers of the increase in trade and GDP of the Kenyan economy – mainly because they are so much higher!

In an international climate dominated by uncertainty caused by the Coronavirus, it is ever more important that we focus to trade with our African brothers instead. We must be self-sufficient, able to rely on ourselves and our continental brethren, and not be at the mercy of imports from overseas that could be cut at any moment.

This is especially true for our countrymen and women living on our Northern border. For too long, they have been plagued by vicious attacks from the hideous Al-Shabaab terrorist organisation. Somalia, instead of joining in this important fight, continues to violate our border and cause harm to Kenyan citizens.

Sure, our courageous soldiers of the KDF could deal with this themselves, but this might lead to even more violence and bloodshed. Instead, Mr Kenyatta chose the smart and diplomatic way. Because of initiatives such as the ‘Handshake’ and the intensified fight against graft, the President has built up a “deposit of goodwill” amongst international partners and institutions alike.

Thus, the United States and Ethiopia used their influence to pressure Somalia to stop their malicious actions and to deescalate. The US and Ethiopia, maybe Somalia’s most important partners, took the Kenyan side after a short call from the President.

This happened because of the good relations he boasts with his colleagues, and the great work the Foreign Ministry’s diplomats do on his behalf.

So next time you see the President on a plane, don’t think about the short term cost, but rather the international goodwill added to our national deposit, which our children will surely benefit from.