Kenya is positioning itself for a two-year non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in a bid to contribute in setting the agenda for global peace and stability as expressed by Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma.
In a bid to increase Kenya's chances, CS Juma reached out to Sweden, which successfully bid for the same position in the 2017-2018 term.
Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Margot Wallstrom expressed her confidence in Kenya's bid to join the council though on a short term period in a report by Capital FM News.
She also promised to work closely with Kenya and share lessons learnt from Sweden’s successful bid.
“We’ll not forget the support we got from African countries when we were running. We’ll be very happy to share our experiences with Kenya because we learnt a lot,” Wallström
She added that Representation of Africa in the UNSC was part of reforms Sweden was keen on pledging to work in unison with Kenya to achieve.
On her part, CS Juma noted, “We’ve always worked and seen the global challenges of peace and security from the same side with Sweden. It is our hope that Sweden will help us to campaign in regard to the UNSC membership for the 2021-22 term and we’ve no doubt that our aspirations to contribute to international peace and security stands strong,” she noted.
The Council comprises China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States sitting as permanent members with 10 fixed-term membership slots shared among African and Asian countries.
Kenya expressed its interest in bidding back in March 2018.
If the bid is successful, this will be the third time Kenya will serve in the UNSC having previously served two terms in 1973/74 and 1997/98.
The UNSC bid has so far been endorsed by Namibia and East African Community states.
