Senegal to open mission in Kenya

The two countries occupy extreme locations on the African continent — Senegal to the West on the Atlantic and Kenya to the East on the Indian Ocean.

But the two are on a mission to bridge the divide, at least diplomatically, with the West African nation set to open a full-fledged diplomatic mission in Nairobi for the first time by next month.

With little interest in Kenya and the East African region as a whole, Senegal, like a number of West African francophone nations, has been relying on the Nairobi embassy of former colonial power France to handle its consular affairs, including the issuance of visas.

Most West African nations have preferred to operate from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the headquarters of the African Union. But with the growing importance of Nairobi as the headquarters of the UN Office in Nairobi one of the four main UN bodies, foreign representation in the city has been looking up.

Furthermore, the 130-million- strong East African Community market is also proving to be a draw for many countries from around the world.

Expressing desire

“The good news is that Senegal is opening a full-fledged mission in Nairobi next month. We have had other countries expressing the desire to do the same. I have a pile of invitations from countries all over the world wishing that the Foreign ministry visits them and exchange views both at bilateral and multilateral levels,” Foreign minister Moses Wetang’ula said.

“We are a very attractive country, and with the passage of a new Constitution, you can see how much interest has been re-ignited.”

The paperwork that would allow Senegal to set up a diplomatic mission in the country is almost complete, Dakar’s representative in Ethiopia, Mr Bassirou Sene, told the Sunday Nation.

Mr Wetang’ula con-irmed that Kenyan authorities were working with their Senegalese counterparts to complete the bilateral agreements so the West African nation can send its envoy to Nairobi.

“We will open as soon as we finalise agreements between the two countries,” said Mr Sene, who was recently in Nairobi to oversee the arrangements.

“An ambassador will also be appointed very soon. Senegal is ready to operate in Kenya, and we are also open to Kenyan businesses,” said Mr Sene.

While the two regions have maintained cordial ties, they have not seen the need to fortify them by exchanging diplomats.

Only five francophone nations in Africa have permanent missions in Nairobi: Congo (Brazzaville), Democratic Republic of Congo, Algeria, Morocco and Burundi.

Kenya’s interests in vast West Africa and parts of North Africa are overseen from the embassy in Egypt and the High Commission in Abuja, Nigeria.

Kenyan diplomats in Cairo and Abuja are accredited to Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Benin, among the francophone nations.

Between the regions

Could language be a barrier to flourishing relationships between the two regions? Mr Sene’s response is negative.

“Language has never been a barrier to us in Senegal,” he said. Though it is not the national language, English is taught in Senegalese schools, he said.

Mr Wetang’ula, who has recently resumed his ministerial duties after nearly a year out of office, said Nairobi was also assessing how it can co-operate with Dakar on important geopolitical issues.

And the strategic importance of Nairobi is not lost to the minister who takes pride in the fact that the 2008 post-election violence did not see an exodus of foreign diplomatic missions.

“I have no doubt whatsoever that Kenya is a respected country and the respect the rest of the world gives us cannot be understated. We know that all those who reacted towards the Kenyan situation (post-election violence) then were all friends that wished Kenya well. They all wanted us to come back to peaceful coexistence,” the minister said.

“But I also know that even in those difficult times there’s not a single country that closed, withdrew or downgraded its representation in Nairobi. We have since had more countries coming,” he added.

According to Mr Sene, Kenya and Senegal share many interests, and he believes setting up a mission in Nairobi would fortify the ties, both at the bilateral and multilateral level. The national carrier, Kenya Airways, flies to Senegal four times a week.

“We want to strengthen the favourable ties we already have and also look into economic co-operation,” the envoy said. 

“The two countries are at the extremes of the continent, but we believe that shouldn’t be a barrier to our co-operation.”