Tigray ceasefire will bolster trade in eastern Africa and the Horn
Redwan Hussien Rameto (left), Representative of the Ethiopian government, and Getachew Reda, Representative of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), shake hands after a peace agreement between the two parties in Pretoria on November 2, 2022. Looking on is former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Bilateral ties between Kenya and Ethiopia have historically been anchored on trade and security. In 1963, the two nations signed a defence pact. Although the pact was largely seen as targeting the then increasingly belligerent and expansionist Somalia, it set off a long tradition of bilateral engagements.
The most recent was the March 2022 pact on enhancing peace and security between the two nations. In February, police chiefs of the two countries had agreed to work together in combating cross-border crimes. Back in 2011, Kenya and Ethiopia signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Defence and Security in the region.
Then came the Special Status Agreement of 2012, which sought to enhance trade, investment, infrastructure, food security and sustainable livelihoods.
The opening of the Moyale One Stop Border Post in 2021 further cemented the economic ties.
Lapsset corridor
There has been good progress with the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia transport corridor (Lapsset), with the completion of Lamu Port Phase 1.
Kenya played a key role in the recent ceasefire between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, ending two years of conflict in Tigray.
The breakthrough peace deal under the auspices of the African Union (AU) was signed in Pretoria, South Africa on November 2, following talks chaired by former presidents of Kenya and Nigeria, Uhuru Kenyatta and Olusegun Obasanjo.
In November 2021, then-President Kenyatta visited Ethiopia and held talks with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Sahle-Work Zewde, urging them to resolve the crisis.
Nairobi was already angling to play the role of a neutral mediator, leveraging its influence as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council.
One may argue that Kenya has a vested interest in a more secure, stable Ethiopia given the growing presence of Kenyan businesses in her northern neighbour, which has a population of 110 million people.
The nexus between security and trade cannot be ignored. It is this logic of ensuring security to spur trade that saw Kenya recently deploy troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as part of a joint East Africa Community regional force to disarm recalcitrant rebels.
This approach will ensure a stable geopolitical environment in the region.
Mr Choto is a legal and policy analyst. [email protected]
