UK Says It Will Review Travel Advisory Against Kenya

The United Kingdom says it is working with the Kenyan Government to review the travel advisory issued to its citizens.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond says his government is in close talks with Kenyan authorities to not only address the issue but deal with the threat posed by terrorism as a whole.

“Where we have a deep relationship with a country, then we can take a more enlightened view of the threat picture. But I am optimistic that this process of deeper collaboration will help in many areas, including possibly an ability for us to look again at that travel advise,” Hammond who made a one-day visit to Kenya said.

He maintained that his government issued the travel advisory with the aim of protecting Britons but not to harm its relationship with Kenya.

In September last year, the UK relaxed the travel advisory to Nairobi apart from Eastleigh, but maintained a warning to Mombasa and towns bordering Somalia.

Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed however said there was need for the UK to hasten the process adding the travel advisory was hurting Kenya’s tourism sector which is core to her economy.

“I am extremely delighted that the Foreign Secretary accepted our invitation to come to Kenya. Of course one of the major issues for us was the travel advisories. We have had a discussion on that and we are looking forward to a time when obviously that will be reviewed and we hope it will be soon,” Mohamed urged.

The CS stressed on the need for the international community to deal with the terrorism challenge as a global challenge and less of a country’s challenge.

“This is a global problem and we need to come together to address it. We need to be ahead of the curve and cooperate much more,” she said.

The two were speaking on Thursday while signing an MoU between Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) and Industry and the British Chamber of Commerce-Kenya (BCCK).

The MoU is aimed at creating a formal cooperation between the Kenyan and British Chambers.

It also highlights the commitment to joint working, networking events and a newly created business forum which will promote and develop commercial and investment interests between both chambers.