Kenya was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa and the fourth in Africa to be named as a “major non-NATO ally” by US President Joe Biden on Monday, June 24, 2024. Other recipients include former President Ronald Reagan’s Egypt (1987), President George W. Bush’s Morocco (2004), and President Barack Obama’s Tunisia (2015).
In May, when hosting Kenyan President William Ruto at the White House for a sumptuous state visit to commemorate their 60 years of diplomatic ties, Biden first revealed the plan to raise Kenya to such designation.
“I hereby designate Kenya as a Major Non-NATO ally of the United States for the purposes of the Act and the Arms Export Control Act,” a White House memo stated, “by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2321k) (the “Act”).
According to the White House, the US only bestows this distinguished title on nations with which it has deep, strategic military and defense ties.
There are now 32 nations that make up NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. These nations are known as NATO allies. As a non-NATO ally, Kenya will be granted preferential access to advanced military hardware, instruction, and financing to increase defense expenditures. But the US is not required to give it direct military support, and Kenya is not required to send soldiers to participate in NATO missions.
Though non-NATO ally countries do not have the same obligations to mutual defense as members of NATO under Article 5 of the NATO treaty, these countries enjoy a number of benefits.
According to the US Department of State website, having a non-NATO ally membership “does not entail any security commitments to the designated country,” but it does have some advantages for the military and economy as well as perks for defense commerce and security cooperation. Kenya will be able to purchase military technologies thanks to the designation, which would be more difficult for other nations to achieve.
Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, South Korea, Thailand, and Tunisia are some of the other significant non-NATO allies. Taiwan is recognized as such even though it has no official name.