Speaking during the end of the four-day official visit in Budapest by National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister Péter Szijjartór said this is in line with Hungary’s objective for further cooperation with Kenya on agriculture/COURTESY
NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 4 – The Hungarian Government has appealed to Kenya to fast track the appointment of outgoing National Chairman of Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Kiprono Kittony as the Hungarian Consul for Western Kenya.
Speaking during the end of the four-day official visit in Budapest by National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister Péter Szijjartór said this is in line with Hungary’s objective for further cooperation with Kenya on agriculture.
Kittony’s nomination was announced two years ago but has not been formalised.
The government strongly urged Kenya to take their 50- year old bilateral relationship a notch higher by establishing a mission in Budapest before the end of the year.
In a meeting between Speaker Muturi and the Hungarian President János Áder at the Sándor Palace, President Áder implored the government of Kenya to establish a stronger presence in Budapest by the end of the year noting that would be a hallmark in the history of their bilateral relations.
On his part, Speaker Muturi undertook to deliver the request of the Hungarian Government to President Uhuru Kenyatta, adding that Kenya was keen to have its footprint in Budapest as a gateway to Central and Eastern Europe.
“Kenya values its relationship with Hungary as a strategic partner in our development agenda. We will strongly consider this request to establish a mission and I commit to engage President Uhuru Kenyatta on the same”, Speaker Muturi said.
Currently, the Kenyan Embassy in Vienna, Austria is in charge of Hungary.
Earlier on, Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister Péter Szijjartór revealed that his government had identified a suitable property and was ready to help the Kenyan Government to buy or lease the property for purposes of putting up an Embassy.
Speaker Muturi also delivered a special message from President Kenyatta to President Áder, extending an invitation to him to visit Kenya in January 2020.
Confirming his acceptance of the invitation, President Áder expressed his strong desire to have the mission up and running well before his visit to Nairobi.
The two nations agreed on reciprocal support in their bids for top seats at the United Nations, with Kenya committing to support Hungary for its bid for a seat at UNESCO Board, and the latter offering to support Kenya get a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council between 2021-2022.
Hungary lauded Kenya for her strong stance on the war against terrorism and committed to support Kenya on this front.
The Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister informed Speaker Muturi that his nation was looking forward to Kenya signing the Framework Agreement on Financial Cooperation between Kenya and Hungary which is expected to pave the way for a tied-aid credit facility to Kenya, in support of healthcare projects such as the establishment of an Oncological Cancer Centre at the Nyeri Level 5 Hospital and to establish the Beyond Zero Mother and Child Hospital at the Kenyatta National Hospital.
In 2014, Hungary introduced a new foreign policy for Africa and Asia with an emphasis on economic cooperation.
This has led to the growth of Hungarian interest in Kenya and plans are underway to open a trade facilitation office in Nairobi.
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