The Benelux delegation continued the second part of its joint mission to Africa with a working visit to Kenya on 7 June 2023.
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(from l. to r.) Wopke Hoekstra, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs; William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya; Jean Asselborn, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs; Jeroen Cooreman, Director General for Bilateral Affairs, Belgian Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.
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(from l. to r.) William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya; Jean Asselborn, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs
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(from l. to r.) Jean Asselborn, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs; Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, French Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, responsible for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships.
Following the working visit to Ghana, the Benelux Ministers travelled to Kenya, which plays a key role within the East African Community as the largest economy in East Africa and the third largest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In Nairobi, the Benelux delegation opened the day with a working meeting with the EU Ambassadors to Kenya together with Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, the French Minister of State to the Minister for European and Foreign Affairs, in charge of Development, the Francophonie and International Partnerships.
Minister Asselborn and his Dutch and Belgian colleagues were then received by the President of the Republic of Kenya, William Ruto, for a bilateral meeting. President Ruto was accompanied by his Minister for Defence, Aden Duale.
On the agenda were relations between the European Union and Africa, Benelux cooperation with Kenya, the situation in the Horn of Africa and the war in Ukraine.
Minister Asselborn and his Dutch counterpart, Wopke Hoekstra, discussed the partnership between the EU and Kenya, particularly in the areas of climate, sustainable development and trade.
The Benelux delegation and President Ruto then had an in-depth exchange of views on the security situation in the Horn of Africa region. Minister Asselborn praised Kenya's stabilising role in the whole region and the fact that Kenya has been hosting many refugees from the region for many years. The situation in Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia were particularly discussed in this context.
The meeting with the President was also an opportunity to raise the issue of the war in the Ukraine. The Benelux countries welcome Kenya's commitment to the United Nations Charter and its condemnation of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. Minister Asselborn stressed that the war in Ukraine should not be seen as a purely European war, just as the conflict in Sudan should not be seen as a purely African conflict, since in each case universal values and respect for international law are being challenged, and the conflicts affect their region, but also the whole world.
Press release by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs