Kenya Defense Designation of Kenya as a major Non-NATO U.S Ally (MNNA)

During the recent historic State Visit of Kenya’s President William Ruto, President Biden confirmed that Kenya had been designated a major non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) U.S. ally (MNNA).  The MNNA designation will make Kenya the only Sub-Saharan African nation to have an elevated defense cooperation relationship with the United States and has the potential to create long-term opportunities for U.S. commercial defense solutions.  According to the State Department, some of the privileges that come with MNNA designation include:

•    Eligibility for loans of material, supplies, or equipment for cooperative research, development, testing, or evaluation purposes.

•    Eligibility to enter into an MOU or other formal agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense for the purpose of conducting cooperative research and development projects on defense equipment and munitions.

•    Allowing firms of a MNNA, as with NATO countries, to bid on contracts for maintenance, repair or overhaul of U.S. Department of Defense equipment outside the United States.

•    Allowing funding to procure explosives detection devices and other counter-terrorism research and development projects under the auspices of the Department of State’s Technical Support Working Group

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U.S. defense companies and service providers with experience in Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) may consider leveraging this elevated bilateral cooperation agreement to inform their mid- to long-term business development strategy for the Kenyan market.

For more information or questions on the Kenya market, please email CS Kenya via Mary.Masyuko@trade.gov.