President Kenyatta to meet envoys in foreign policy review
Foreign Affairs PS Karanja Kibicho. FILE PHOTO | DIANA NGILA |
What you need to know:
- 54 heads of foreign missions converge as State assesses means of achieving foreign policy goals.
- 25 ambassadors were appointed in November.
Kenya’s diplomats will be in Kwale for the next one week starting Saturday during which the government will review means of achieving its foreign policy objectives.
“The meeting of ambassadors, high commissioners and other diplomats to Kenya’s missions abroad will help us reflect on our development agenda in the context of the country’s international relations,” said Foreign Affairs PS Karanja Kibicho.
“It is important to reflect on our agenda and diplomatic engagements in a rapidly changing, complex and competitive world environment,” he told the Saturday Nation.
“We want to realign our foreign policy to objectives and priorities the government seeks to achieve as we aim to deepen our economic ties with our immediate neighbours, Africa and the rest of the world.”
Officially known as the Biennial Conference of Ambassadors and High Commissioners, set for Leisure Lodge Resort, the meeting brings together heads of 54 missions.
This is the first such meeting under President Uhuru Kenyatta the government, but it is the 17th in Kenya’s history.
President Kenyatta is expected to attend some sessions on Tuesday.
“The conference is an ideal platform for the President, as Kenya’s top diplomat, to interact with his envoys and for the government to provide overall political guidance in the conduct of Kenya’s foreign policy,” explained Dr Kibicho.
“This will be done within the context of the new Constitution and emerging national and global priorities.”
NEW AMBASSADORS
Kenya’s new foreign policy has focused on fostering trade and attracting foreign direct investment.
Kenya’s new ambassadors will be expected to deliver a list of priorities and explain challenges they are facing.
Of the 25 ambassadors recently posted to their stations, 16 had never been diplomats and were given the first three months to learn the ropes.
The new entrants include Washington’s Njeru Githae, Kiema Kilonzo in Ankara, Richard Opembe in Dublin, Rukia Subow in Tehran, Prof George Godia at Unesco in Paris and Lucy Chelimo in Ottawa, Canada.
As they were posted last November, the government warned the envoys against ‘bad habits’ of extravagant spending and must account for tax payers’ money.
In a brief from the ministry at the time, Dr Kibicho lamented that Kenyan embassies abroad had been taking advantage of the distance to dodge filing returns of their expenditure. “These are habits I am asking to go and kill.”
