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{
    "id": 1519437,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1519437/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 192,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "President William Ruto, we thank you because you walked the talk. You walked with a candidate. You opened doors for the candidate and allowed Raila Amolo Odinga, despite the political competition, to be a candidate for Kenya, rather than a candidate for any political formation. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Sessional Paper on Kenya’s Foreign Policy was laid on the Table of this House last week by the Senate Majority Leader. We now have an opportunity to weigh in on Kenya’s foreign policy. I know that my colleague, the Senator for Kisii, Sen. Onyonka, is one of the most exposed and experienced diplomats in this House, having served as an Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs. Hon. Members, we have an opportunity to weigh in on Kenya’s foreign policy. I request the Speaker to direct it to the relevant committee, which I think is the Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights if not the Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations. They must bring back a report to this House. They must scrutinise that Sessional Paper. They must get views from experts. They must look at it and confirm that Kenya is adopting a foreign policy that is pragmatic. That was the position of the founding fathers of this nation. They said we are facing neither East nor West. They said we are going to face the direction where the wind will blow in our sails. That should be the position that this generation takes. There is nothing fashionable about being seen as pro-American or pro-Chinese. Those are constructs that do not matter to us. We shall face the direction that adds value to the lives of the people of Kenya, the direction that is willing to partner with us in achieving our developmental objectives, and the direction that is respectful to the people of Kenya. I heard some people say that we should withdraw from the Africa Union (AU) and global commitments. We should never make the mistakes that we saw the Brits do with Brexit. They regret it today. We should never make the irresponsible decisions that we have seen the Americans doing under President Trump, saying that they will withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. We should not go for isolation. We should not go for a situation where we are left alone as parriers in the global world order. We shall continue supporting and fulfilling our international obligations, be it at the AU or the EAC level where Kenya is the current Chair. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also wish to congratulate Djibouti whose candidate is now the Chair of the Africa Union Commission (AUC). I do not know much about the gentleman who has been elected to that position. As we have said, this election was not just about individuals, but also about the nationalities that fronted those individuals. As it has been said by the Senate Majority Leader, our President has been given a rare opportunity to propose reforms at the AUC. Amb. Amayo is a good friend of this House because every time and everywhere he was posted; be it in London or Washington, whenever a Senate delegation went, he welcomed them. He was unlike"
}