Kenya’s move to buy Iran Oil is welcomed.
The move by
the Kenyan government through the Ministry of Energy to buy Iranian oil is a
welcome move. Under President Mwai Kibaki, Kenya has approached new alternative
foreign policy goals with a more pragmatic economic agenda. Kenya’s foreign
policy has focused more on economic diplomacy under Kibaki. This move to buy
oil from Iran, a country suffering from illegal and callous sanctions from the
West is testament to these new alternative policy approaches.
Iran has
been under a series of economic sanctions which have targeted their oil
exports. The European sanctions have among other things, placed a ban on
imports of Iran oil by European Union States. This has made it difficult for
other countries to trade with Iran. The US, which has been the architect of the
sanctions, is now finalizing a new package of sanctions aimed at further
reducing oil and other revenues used by Iran to further its nuclear program.
International politics is intertwined with economics and all these factors
don’t operate in a vacuum. This been said, the relations between Iran and the
West should entirely influence the relations between Iran and other states and
vice versa. National security and national interests are the principal categories
in which strategic goals are conceived. Kenya’s strategic interests of securing
long term fuel supply from Iran should be seen as sound policy goal. Under the proposed Kenya-Iranian contract,
Tehran could give an extended credit facility of 90 days, saving the country
millions of shillings currently used to import expensive crude oil through
overdraft facilities. This will be a long term strategic interest for Kenya and
further a reorientation of her policy from the traditional West to emerging
East.
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