On Tuesday, Kenyan officials praised President Obama's visit as a chance to show the world the count

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By David Francis David Francis is a staff writer for Foreign Policy, boston airport car rental where he runs the widely-read Situation Report morning email and oversees FP's breaking news blog, The Cable. An award-winning journalist, David has reported from all over Europe, Nigeria, Kenya, Mexico, and Afghanistan on terrorism, national security, the geopolitics of energy, global economics, and the European financial crisis. His work has been published in outlets including the Christian Science Monitor, the Financial Times Deutschland, Slate, and SportsIllustrated.com.
President Barack Obama is set to visit his father’s homeland, Kenya, in July to take part in a summit connecting young entrepreneurs with global leaders. Travelers who want to join him must first confront the State Department and other Western governments boston airport car rental that have long warned: Go to Kenya at your own risk.
A U.S. advisory that serves as a travel alert to Kenya, where al-Shabab has launched a number of successful terror attacks, has been in place since June 2014. On Tuesday, the British Foreign Office extended its own travel warning to Mombasa, a coastal Kenyan tourist destination that remains under constant threat from al-Shabab attacks.
Despite these advisories, the United States plans to co-host the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit from July 24 to 26 in the capital Nairobi, which is likely to attract thousands boston airport car rental of delegates from around the globe. The State Department did not return a request for comment Tuesday on whether the United States would revise its travel warning now that the president is set to travel there.
Kenyan officials are furious over U.S., British, Australian, and French warnings, issued after a series of al-Shabab attacks in recent years, most notably the 2013 siege of an upscale mall in Nairobi that left 68 dead. They say fears over attacks boston airport car rental on tourists are overblown boston airport car rental and are crushing Kenya’s boston airport car rental tourist industry, which is the lifeblood of its fragile economy, and in turn, exasperating cycles of poverty and joblessness. The Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers claims that between 25,000 to 30,000 boston airport car rental people have lost jobs in the last year in Mombasa.
American diplomats insist the danger to embassy staffers is real. Travel to certain parts of the country, including Mombasa, is restricted, and some staff members have been relocated to other countries.
“Violent and sometimes fatal criminal attacks, including armed carjackings, grenade attacks, boston airport car rental home invasions and burglaries, and kidnappings can occur at any time and in any location, particularly in Nairobi,” says the 2014 State Department travel warning, which is still in effect. “U.S. citizens, including U.S. Embassy employees, have been victims boston airport car rental of such crimes within the past year.”
To be sure, Obama’s security detail while in the sub-Saharan nation will be extraordinarily tight and expensive. Security precautions boston airport car rental on a 2013 Obama trip to Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania cost between boston airport car rental $60 million and $100 million , and it’s fair to say an event the U.S. president and thousands of foreign delegates plan to attend makes an enticing target. Nearly 4,000 people attended a 2014 entrepreneur conference in Marrakech, Morocco, according to the White House.
boston airport car rental The State warning advises those traveling to the conference which is aimed at connecting boston airport car rental entrepreneurs with business boston airport car rental leaders, foreign governments, boston airport car rental and other international organizations to be mindful of suicide bombings, shootings, kidnappings, and attacks boston airport car rental against planes and boats.
On Tuesday, Kenyan boston airport car rental officials praised President Obama’s visit as a chance to show the world the country is safe. Kenya Tourism Board managing boston airport car rental director Muriithi Ndegwa called it “an indication of the prowess of the destination boston airport car rental to host international meetings.” Kenyan Ambassador to the United States Robinson Njeru Githae told Foreign Policy in an email that Obama’s visit highlights his country’s “safety and security for visitors from all over the world.”
Related Stories How the United States is Trying to stop al-Shabab David Francis David Francis is a staff writer for Foreign Policy, where he runs the widely-read Situation Report morning email and oversees FP's breaking news blog, The Cable. An award-winning journalist, David has reported from all over Europe, Nigeria, Kenya, boston airport car rental Mexico, and Afghanistan on terrorism, national security, the geopolitics of energy, global economics, and the European financial crisis. His work has been published boston airport car rental in outlets including the Christian Science Monitor, the Financial Times Deutschland, Slate, and SportsIllustrated.com. | The Cable | 212 Shares
| Argument | 401 Shares FP s Situation Report: boston airport car rental Iran and world powers agree to a tentative nuclear deal; Middle East nations now worry about the rise of Tehran; boston airport car rental Al-Shabab massacres students in Kenya; and much more from around the world. David Francis David Francis is a staff writer for Foreign Policy, where he runs the widely-read Situation Report morning email and oversees FP's breaking news blog, The Cable. An award-winning journalist, boston airport car rental David has reported from all over Europe, Nigeria, Kenya, Mexico, and Afghanistan on terrorism, national security, boston airport car rental the geopolitics of energy, global economics, and the European financial crisis. His work has been published in outlets including the Christian Science Monitor, boston airport car rental the Financial Times Deutschland, Slate, and SportsIllustrated.com. | The Cable | 4 Shares
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