Japan-Kenya Relations
Japan-Kenya Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
On October 1, commencing at 4:15 p.m. (local time; 11:15 p.m. JST) for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who was visiting France, held a meeting with H.E. Amb. Raychelle Awuor Omamo, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Kenya, who was accompanying H.E. Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya, during her visit to France. The overview of the meeting is as follows.>
1. At the outset, Minister Motegi expressed his pleasure to meet Cabinet Secretary Omamo for the first time. He stated that Kenya was an important partner for Japan in terms of African development, and expressed Japan’s intention to continue to assist Kenya’s economic development. Noting that Kenya hosted the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) in 2016, the first TICAD held in Africa, Minister Motegi requested Kenya’s cooperation for TICAD 8, which is scheduled to be held in Tunisia in 2022.
2. In addition, Minister Motegi mentioned Japan’s assistance in efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage, to combat infectious diseases, and to strengthen healthcare and medical system and expressed his hope that such cooperation would contribute to supporting Kenya’s COVID-19 countermeasures and continued development.
3. In response, Cabinet Secretary Omamo expressed her pleasure to meet Minister Motegi for the first time and her gratitude for Japan’s support for Kenya’s development, direct investment, and COVID-19-related initiatives, as parts of friendly bilateral relations built over many years. Furthermore, the two ministers shared their view that Japan and Kenya would work closely together for the success of TICAD 8 in 2022.