The U.S embassy in Kenya has been awarded in the 2024 Benjamin Joy Award ceremony held at the U.S. Department of State on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.
In a statement seen by The Kenya Times, U.S department of commerce said the Nairobi based embassy received an award alongside the U.S. Embassy Nassau in The Bahamas.
The awards recognize outstanding examples of interagency collaboration with U.S embassies that benefit America’s companies abroad and advance our nation’s economic and commercial agenda.
“This year’s winners, the U.S Embassy Nassau in The Bahamas and the U.S. Embassy Nairobi in Kenya demonstrated exceptional collaborative leadership to level the playing field for U.S companies,” the statement read in part.
Why Kenya Received an Award
According to the statement, the U.S Embassy in Nairobi demonstrated outstanding leadership by identifying and implementing investment climate reforms with the Kenyan government.
“This facilitated a new approach to commercial-economic diplomacy, boosting two-way trade and investment which positioned U.S companies for continued growth in the market,” the statement read.
U.S. Embassy Nassau was awarded for securing an $85 million contract for a U.S telecom company to lead the expansion of critical telecommunications infrastructure across the country.
Besides, Benjamin Joy award finalists were both U.S Department of Commerce Foreign Commercial Service Officers and U.S Department of State Foreign Service Officers from posts around the world, including Kenya, Norway, Zambia, Kosovo, Vietnam, and The Bahamas.
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The award was hosted by U.S Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General and Foreign Commercial Service Arun Venkataraman.
Additionally, U.S Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Ramin Toloui and Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs Sarah Morgenthau were also among the hosts of the 2024 awards.
“This prestigious award serves as a testament to the impact of joint efforts by the Department of Commerce and the Department of State to advance America’s economic interests on the global stage,” read another part of the statement.
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About Benjamin Joy Award
The Benjamin Joy Award was named after Benjamin Joy, the first American Consul and Commercial Agent to India.
It was established in 2016 to acknowledge and promote the partnership between the Departments of State and Commerce in advancing U.S economic and commercial interests.
President George Washington appointed Benjamin Joy in 1792 and was an early exemplar of U.S. commercial and economic diplomacy.
Currently, there are over 200 U.S diplomatic outposts helping to strengthen America’s economic and commercial relationships around the world.
