Kenya, UK seek peace after ban fight

President Kenyatta meets with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. FILE PHOTO | NMG

By GERALD ANDAE
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summary

• Kenya and the UK are set for reconciliation talks after a row over Covid-19 risk levels triggered a tit-for-tat travel blockade from each.
• The two countries announced on Wednesday that a joint committee would be formed to examine travel restrictions that threatened bilateral trade, economic and security ties.
• The announcement followed a telephone discussion between Kenya’s Foreign Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo and her British counterpart Dominic Raab.

Kenya and the UK are set for reconciliation talks after a row over Covid-19 risk levels triggered a tit-for-tat travel blockade from each.

The two countries announced on Wednesday that a joint committee would be formed to examine travel restrictions that threatened bilateral trade, economic and security ties.

The announcement followed a telephone discussion between Kenya’s Foreign Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo and her British counterpart Dominic Raab.

“They discussed the strength of our relationship – on trade, regional security and health – and agreed to create a joint committee to work together on tackling COVID-19 travel restrictions,” the ministry said. Kenyan Foreign Office in a statement.

Passengers traveling between the two countries face a blockade from this Friday after the Kenyan government banned all flights from the UK in response to a decision by London to add the country to its’ red list ” of travel.

Travelers arriving in the UK from Red List countries will be refused entry, while returning Britons will be subject to a 10 day mandatory quarantine at hotels. The UK has claimed it based its decision on scientific evidence which showed Kenya had strains of the more deadly South African variant of the coronavirus – a claim Nairobi rejected.

Kenya has, in addition to the ban on passenger flights, has also ordered all non-citizens coming from the UK to self-isolate for 14 days before they can be admitted to the country, which will drastically reduce the number of tourists coming to Kenya before the summer holidays.

Those arriving from the UK must also undergo two mandatory Covid-19 tests, one on the second day of quarantine and another on the eighth day.

In an attempt to avoid escalating the feud, the two countries agreed to sit at a negotiating table amid fears the standoff could affect critical security and trade relations.

The travel blockades have raised concerns about the negative effects on trade and tourism between the two countries and bilateral relations such as military cooperation.

Kenya is currently engaged in talks for a critical new bilateral trade deal with the UK post-Brexit, hoping to dampen its economy after African Community partner states l ‘East (EAC) have failed to conclude an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU. Only Kenya has signed and ratified the agreement.

Until the end of the Brexit transition period, Kenya enjoyed duty-free and quota-free access to UK markets through the EU’s Market Access Regulation ( MAR). As the UK did not replicate the MAR at the end of the transition period, Kenya would have faced a tariff increase without a trade deal or other measures in place.