Meridian Global Business Briefing with H.E. Lazarus Amayo, Ambassador of Kenya to the U.S.

With the United States having recently overtaken Uganda to become Kenya’s largest export destination in 2022, the warm and multi-faceted bilateral relationship between the two nations seems poised to grow and deepen in the coming years. On April 19, 2023, the Meridian Corporate Council partnered with AARP to host a Global Business Briefing with His Excellency Lazarus Amayo, Ambassador of Kenya to the U.S. The discussion, moderated by Robert Kapla of Squire Patton Boggs, covered key areas of collaboration and partnership between the U.S. and Kenya, particularly in the economic realm.

Ambassador Amayo has held several senior public positions before his current assignment, among them: Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the United Nations, High Commissioner of Kenya to the United Kingdom and the Permanent Representative of Kenya to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Commonwealth Organization. Ambassador Amayo has served in a variety of other positions across the Kenyan Foreign Ministry, including as the Director for Europe and Commonwealth Division, High Commissioner of Kenya to Zambia and Malawi, and Director of Administration and Head of International Organizations and Conferences (Multilateral Relations) Division. He was also Kenya’s High Commissioner to India with concurrent accreditation to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Singapore.

The U.S.-Kenya bilateral economic partnership is expanding rapidly through mechanisms such as the Bilateral Strategic Dialogue (BSD), ongoing negotiations on the proposed Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP), and the active American Chamber of Commerce in Nairobi. These mechanisms leverage Kenya’s ever-growing strength as a gateway to the African market, as well as its friendly investment climate, robust private sector and skilled human resources. Despite a rapidly growing technology sector and infrastructure improvements through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), addressing the challenges of climate change and food insecurity remain key priorities for the Kenyan government. Though China is increasing its presence in the country through investments in infrastructure and minerals, Kenya welcomes the growth of U.S. investment and expertise (bolstered by initiatives such as Prosper Africa) in order to enable greater prosperity and diversification as the foundation of a robust bilateral ecosystem.