Adan Keynan

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 2181 to 2190 of 2568.

• 19 Oct 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when we also visited those areas, there are a number of issues that we recognized as a group. The essence of foreign policy is to reflect the aspirations of the citizenry of that particular country. The aspirations are supposed to be reflected in three perspectives. First of all, these aspirations must be anchored on the sovereignty of the Republic of Kenya. That is completely free from the day to day petty politics. It is completely free from the petty and partisan political interests of the day. It is also free from the ever competing interests ... view
• 19 Oct 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, our foreign policy must at all times, project, promote, protect and articulate these unique commonalities. What are the commonalities? We have one Constitution. We have the flag, currency and the sports. These are issues that unite us. We have our map. Minus all these, minus the map, minus the currency, minus the Presidency, minus the flag, minus all these, minus the sports, we would all degenerate into our individual nation states. Which are these nation states? We have the Somali nation, the Meru nation, the Luo nation, the Kikuyu nation, and you name them. They ... view
• 19 Oct 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, let us walk the talk. Three days ago, I had an opportunity to participate in a COMESA meeting. Shockingly, and I want my brother here to deliver this message. We must accept that diplomacy is all about economic diplomacy. Before 1991, before the collapse of the Soviet Union, diplomacy was all about political engagement. However, today the parameters of diplomacy have been redefined. We cannot just limit diplomacy to the traditional thinking of the political representation. Diplomacy today constitutes parliamentary diplomacy. It constitutes, first and foremost, ... view
• 19 Oct 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, our emphasis is economic diplomacy. Shockingly, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not represented at COMESA. COMESA is a very important regional economic block. Therefore, we failed to put up the map of Kenya when Ministers of Foreign Affairs were meeting. We do not have a diplomatic engagement with Malawi. Our mission is in Lusaka. But we met over 300 Kenyans, who were residents of Lilongwe. That, in itself, is a clear indication that Kenyans are people who are adventurous. Kenyans are people who are clearly business minded. Therefore, what they need is the institutional ... view
• 19 Oct 2011 in National Assembly: Five years ago, our number one trading partner was the United Kingdom (UK). Today, our most valued trading partner is our neighbour Uganda. Six years ago, if you look at the volume of trade, Tanzanians were doing more business with South Africa than Kenya. Today, Tanzania remains our number four most important trading partner. Rwanda is number eight. Therefore, there is a total shift from the traditional countries that we used to do business with to emerging markets. Look at the volume of trade between Kenya and China. Six years, ago, it was almost non-existent. Look at the volume of ... view
• 19 Oct 2011 in National Assembly: Therefore, my plea to the Government is any diplomatic representation must be economic diplomatic oriented. Secondly, it must be security oriented. You move from economy to security. The time when we used to have diplomatic engagements for prestige is long gone. In the Kenyan context, I can proudly say here that we have the highest number of diplomatic representation after Cairo and South Africa. Because of the recent events in many parts of the world, Kenya remained again a focus point. To this extent, we must jealously protect our position, as we have done. First of all we have completely ... view
• 19 Oct 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have two of our missions in Nairobi. Maybe, many Members do not know it. We have the Kenyan mission to Somalia, which is housed at the NSSF Building. We also have the Kenya mission to the UN, which is also housed in Gigiri. These are two missions. One of the things we have learnt when we visited as a Committee and we hope the Government will address is we have two rules, one for our diplomatic staff who are out of the country, and another one for those serving here. This needs to be ... view
• 19 Oct 2011 in National Assembly: One of the things we learnt, when we visited this mission, these people do not have even their own accounts. They have to rely on the Ministry headquarters for even their petty cash. This is one of the things we said must be addressed. These people must be allowed to function as a fully fledged--- This is one of the issues we are recommending to the House. The clarity of this particular mission and the one of the United Nation (UN) must also be appreciated. view
• 19 Oct 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have also recommended that in the process of--- We are likely to have many locally-based missions, and the Ministry should also have regulations that are specific. For example, what are the unique common features of the Kenyan Mission to Somalia? There are issues; there are security challenges, there are economic challenges, infrastructural challenges, communication challenges and these must be addressed in that unique manner. view
• 19 Oct 2011 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have also looked at the involvement of competing regional interests in the affairs of the people of Somalia. Kenya, as a leading nation in the region, must also show leadership and ensure that the poor victims of the civil war in Somalia get the necessary humane treatment. This is a role that Kenya can effectively play. view