In Geopolitics Today - Wednesday, November 17th
Kenya Discusses Strategic Partnership with the United States and The UK Loses F-35B Fighter Aircraft in the Mediterranean
Kenya Discusses Strategic Partnership with the United States
Kenya and the United States have held discussions on a future strategic partnership. The second such meeting between the two, talks were carried out under the framework of the Kenya-United States Bilateral Strategic Dialogue and took place in Nairobi. Diplomatic relations between the United States and Kenya have existed since 1964, expanded considerably when Kenya transformed to multiparty democracy in 1992, and are now at a level not seen before. Today, the US and Kenya cooperate across a number of issues, in particular both are working closely to address regional priorities such as ending the ongoing crises in Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan.
To Kenya, the US is a critical partnership in a region that is increasingly tumultuous, with Washington providing over $560 million in assistance to Kenya in 2020. The two countries also enjoy a strong economic partnership which translates to just under $1 billion in annual trade between them. The Kenyan economy is particularly benefiting from its participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act trade program, through which much of the bilateral trade between the countries is conducted. Moreover, with unrest in the region on the rise, Washington has provided considerable financial aid to Nairobi to help the country deal with the flow of refugees stemming from conflicts in the region. Kenya has increasingly come under migratory pressures as over 500,000 refugees have fled Somalia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and other embattled states.
This latest round of talks under the Kenya-United States Bilateral Strategic Dialogue format saw Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Raychelle Omamo and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discuss ways of strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries going forward. A joint statement released by the two sides following the meeting outlined the manner of future cooperation between Washington and Nairobi in five pillars: economic prosperity, trade, and investment; defence cooperation; democracy, governance, and civilian security; multilateral and regional issues; and health cooperation.
Read more about this story here.
The UK Loses F-35B Fighter Aircraft in the Mediterranean
The UK’s most advanced fighter aircraft, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, has crashed in the Mediterranean while operating from the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. According to the Ministry of Defence (MOD), an F-35B variant of the Joint Strike Fighter was conducting routing operations in the Mediterranean Sea when the aircraft crashed, with the pilot said to have safely ejected and returned to the HMS Queen Elizabeth. The MOD has offered no further details about the circumstances surrounding the incident but has made a statement clarifying that an investigation is underway. The aircraft concerned is thought to still be in the sea.
The carrier strike group — of which the HMS Queen Elizabeth is a central part of — was on the last leg of its inaugural deployment when the incident took place. Having recently transited through the Suez Canal after sailing to the Asia Pacific as part of a 26,000-nautical-mile deployment, the loss of the F-35B fighter aircraft poses somewhat of an embarrassment to the UK on top of the steep financial losses associated with losing such an expensive aircraft. The loss of a flagship fighter jet is a significant blow to any state, but this is especially the case for the UK as the costs associated with the F-35 program are a controversial topic domestically. The UK is already committed to purchase 48 F-35s by 2025 as part of a contract worth roughly £10.5 billion.
While little is known about exactly what caused the aircraft to fall into the Mediterranean Sea, initial analysis points to an isolated incident rather than issues pertaining to a fault in the entire F-35 family because other F-35 fighter aircraft were reported to still be airborne without restrictions. Hostile actions are likely not responsible, but a more detailed explanation for what caused the incident is unlikely before a thorough investigation has been conducted. Still, with the F-35 considered to be the most advanced fighter aircraft operated by any military force in the world, any details released into the public domain about the cause of the incident are unlikely to be thorough in order to avoid revealing sensitive and highly-classified information.
Read more about this story here.