Kenya to open embassy in Hungary as two nations sign deals

Kenya will open a new embassy in Budapest, Hungary, as part of plans to expand the reach to Central Europe, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced on Monday.

After a meeting with visiting Hungarian President János Áder in Nairobi, President Kenyatta said opening a new diplomatic mission in Budapest will help Nairobi establish closer ties with the private sector from whom it wants to attract investment.

"As part of our country's strategic desire to have more presence in Central and Eastern Europe, I am glad to announce that Kenya is ready to establish a Diplomatic Mission in Budapest at the earliest opportunity," the President said after the meeting at State House.

"Your visit has presented us with an opportunity to renew and strengthen the long-standing bilateral relations between Kenya and Hungary, which dates back to 1964."

Hungary, the Central European country and a member of the European Union since 2004, was the sixth country to establish diplomatic ties with Kenya after independence in 1963.

But Nairobi has often related with it through its embassy in Vienna in neighbouring Austria.

The president though admitted Nairobi wants closer ties including assisting potential investors with information on Nairobi's economy and easing travel for them.

The exact date of the mission opening was not given but President Kenyatta suggested the Covid-19 pandemic had delayed its establishment, which was planned years ago.

It will mean Kenya will have two embassies in central Europe.

The Hungarian leader was visiting Kenya after he toured Ghana, which he says will improve ties with sub-Saharan Africa and cooperation on common challenges such as security, improve trade and cooperate on environmental and health issues.

As President, he has restricted executive powers, most of which are vested in the Prime Minister, but is a figurehead who can influence policy back home, including vetoing parliamentary legislation.

In Nairobi, he announced Hungary will be taking in 200 students from Kenya, annually, on scholarship, up from the usual 100.

“I am glad that your administration has offered to double Hungarian Government Scholarships given to Kenyan Students annually from the current 100 to 200 opportunities. We thank you and your administration for the kind gesture which will not only help strengthen our people-to-people collaboration but also enhance our two countries cooperation within the wider Kenya-European Union partnership,” President Kenyatta said.

He was accompanied by his wife Anita Herczegh and several government officials.

On Monday, Kenya and Hungary signed four bilateral agreements for cooperation in health, water, education and diplomacy sectors.

The agreements were signed at State House, Nairobi shortly after President Uhuru Kenyatta and his visiting Hungarian counterpart led their respective delegations in bilateral talks.

The agreement on health covers human resource capacity building, information sharing and prevention of diseases including Covid-19.

The pact on education is what will double the number of Kenyans receiving Hungarian government scholarships from the current 100 to 200 annually while the agreement on water covers wastewater management among other related aspects.

Kenya and Hungary also signed a memorandum of understanding on diplomatic training and information exchange that will see the two countries collaborate in the training of diplomats.

On trade and investment cooperation, President Kenyatta said Kenya desired to see more private sector involvement and thanked the Hungarian Government for a 50 million US dollar support given to the country's health, agriculture, education and water sectors.

The Kenyan leader also spoke about regional peace and security saying Kenya will continue leading efforts to attain stability in its neighbourhood.

“Regional peace and security is at the top of our foreign policy and therefore, Kenya will continue being an anchor state and guarantor of processes to end armed conflicts and attain political stability in our region," he said.