NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 8 – The newly appointed Romania Ambassador to Kenya Gentiana Serbu has presented her credentials to President William Ruto as she assumes her new role in Kenya.
Ambassador Serbu was welcomed by President William Ruto and Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi at State House Nairobi on Wednesday.
Speaking after meeting the Romania envoy to Kenya, President Ruto said that Kenya is looking to further enhance its relations with Bucharest which he says is critical in fostering collaboration and economic growth for the mutual benefit of the citizens of the two countries.
“Relations between Kenya and Romania have been growing over time, making way for the exploration of opportunities in trade, investment and education. We are looking forward to escalating our ties to cover other areas such as tourism for the mutual benefit of the two countries,” he said.
Serbu takes over the representation of the Nairobi mission more than four months after Bucharest recalled its former ambassador to Kenya Dragos Viorel Tigau who made a racial slur during a key UN meeting in Nairobi.
Romania’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said it acted following concerns raised by the remark by the ambassador that has been widely condemned by the diplomatic corps in Kenya and across Africa.
“Taking into account the situation generated by the conduct of the Romanian ambassador to Kenya, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania has already initiated the procedure of recalling the Romanian ambassador,” the Romanian government stated in a dispatch to the media on June.
Expressing its condemnation of the incident, Bucharest disclosed that it only became aware of the incident on June 8 and immediately initiated the process of recalling the ambassador.
Bucharest said that the diplomat had failed to inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the April incident as per the established procedures and practices.
“At the same time, as soon as the Romanian MFA’s leadership has learned about the incident in the evening of the 8th of June 2023, the Minister of Foreign Affairs decided that the Romanian Ambassador to the Republic of Kenya return urgently to Romania and the MFA’s internal Control and Diplomatic Evaluation Unit start at once the necessary procedures, including the establishing of internal necessary measures to be taken in the given situation,” Romania’s Foreign Office added.
Written apology
The Romanian MFA regretted the incident which it says is contrary to the institution’s rules, including those of conduct and ethics.
Bucharest further explained that its ambassador to Kenya had presented his apologies after the incident, “including in writing.”
Tigau, also accredited to Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda, sparked anger from African diplomats after he reportedly paralleled the arrival of an African group of diplomats to the sighting of a monkey in the vicinity.
Tigau is reported to have been chairing a meeting bringing together a section of European diplomats at UNON when he made the remark.
