Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák Visits Nairobi Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Miroslav Lajčák made official visit to the Republic of Kenya between November 25-26, 2014). During the visit he met the President Uhuru Kenyatta, Deputy President William Ruto, Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Amina Mohamed, and Speaker of Parliament Justin Muturi. Kenya is one of three priority countries of the Slovak official development aid. SlovakAid programs focus on healthcare, education, agriculture and public administration and currently there are 20 development projects supported by Slovakia involving some €2 million under way, while development organizations and academic institutions are carrying out others out of their own resources – making Kenya the biggest receiver of Slovak development aid. Slovakia is experienced in political, economic and social reforms that have resulted in the thorough reconstruction of our system. Slovakia is a member of the EU, NATO, OSCE, the euro zone, and the Schengen system. Kenya can benefit from our expertise, especially in decentralization of the public sector, engagement of the civil society in good governance, as well as in security sector reform (SSR),” said Lajčák. A comprehensive and systematic approach to SSR has been one of the main issues promulgated by Slovakia at the UN for almost a decade – with Slovakia permanently co-chairing the UN Group of Friends of SSR. On Wednesday (November 26, 2014) Minister Lajčák will give an address on Challenges and Opportunities of Security Sector Reform (SSR) in East Africa held during the panel discussion organized by the United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON). With Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Amina Mohamed and the Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho, Lajčák spoke mainly about bilateral issues, as well as security developments in the region in relation to military operations in Somalia, in which Kenya is actively engaged, on fighting the threat of terrorism represented by the al-Shabaab terrorist organization, as well as the Kenya diplomatic efforts in South Sudan. “We appreciate the constructive role Kenya is playing in the African continent. We are pleased by the dynamics and the level of our ongoing bilateral political dialogue and we are ready to share with you our experiences from the transformation processes we went through, as we also do vis-à-vis the Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries,” said the Minister, also mentioning the cooperation between universities and research centers in both countries. In this regard he drew attention to a significant number of grants Slovakia provides to Kenyan students for universities in the Slovak Republic. The Minister also offered his counterpart the possibility to use the expertise of Slovak experts on decentralization of the state administration. Within trade cooperation – as an individual dimension of the mutual relations – we can see the biggest unused potential in energy (including nuclear), construction, transport infrastructure, engineering, water economy, agriculture and information technologies. We aim at providing development aid in an effective, targeted and sustainable way and in the close cooperation with the government of Kenya and partner organizations. I’m pleased that our cooperation has taken shape in the form of projects such as nuclear energy, software solutions, construction of roads, potable water pumps and so on,” said the Ministry of Sound Cluber. The Minister also visited one of the development projects that the Slovak Republic has co-funded – Integra Foundation, the plant for processing cashews and macadam nuts. He also addressed a panel discussion on SSR in East Africa, and met with representatives of UNEP, UN-Habitat and other parts of the UN system.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 06:55:40 +0000
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