Romanian president kicks off Africa tour in Kenya

Romania's president Klaus Iohannis met with Kenyan counterpart William Ruto on Tuesday, November 14. Kenya is the first country visited by the Romanian leader in his African tour scheduled for November 14-23.

Klaus Iohannis was received at the Kenyan president's residence in Nairobi by his counterpart William Ruto. The two had one-on-one talks and signed several bilateral documents, with joint press statements, according to the Romanian Presidential Administration. 

"Romania and Kenya have a longstanding relationship, characterized by mutual respect and trust, built over 55 years of bilateral relations," said Iohannis, cited by Free Europe. He also added that Kenya is an example of political stability and democratic transition in East Africa.

"We agreed to develop cooperation in areas crucial for both Romania and Kenya: environmental protection and combating climate change, civil protection, education, digitization, and green energy," the Romanian president said further.

While in Kenya, Iohannis will lay a wreath at the mausoleum of Jomo Kenyatta, one of Kenya's most important politicians, then visit the UN Office in Nairobi and meet with the executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme. He will later visit a girls’ school. 

Next, the Romanian president will visit three more African countries, namely Tanzania, Cape Verde Islands, and Senegal, by November 23.

In the United Republic of Tanzania, the head of state will have political consultations with president Samia Suluhu Hassan.

During the state visit to the Republic of Cape Verde, Iohannis will have consultations with president Jose Maria Neves. The official program will also include meetings with the president of the National Assembly, Austelino Tavares Correia, with prime minister Jose Ulisses Correia e Silva, and with the mayor of Praia, Francisco Avelino Carvalho. Moreover, Klaus Iohannis will have a meeting with former students from Cape Verde who have studied in Romania.

In Senegal, he will have political consultations with president Macky Sall. The official program of the visit includes, among other things, the participation of the two heads of state in the inauguration of the United Nations House in Senegal, which will host the 34 UN agencies present in this country. President Iohannis will also meet with former Senegalese students in Romania, according to Agerpres.

According to the Presidential Administration, president Klaus Iohannis's visits to Africa represent Romania's first high-level political-diplomatic initiative in the African continent in the last 30 years and aim to reinvigorate Romania's relations with the African states. The visits, the Administration argues, are all the more important since Romania has recently adopted the strategy 'Romania - Africa: Partnership for the future through peace, development, and education, a framework document of vision.'

According to the decrees recently published in the Official Gazette, the Romanian head of state decorated the president of Kenya, William Kipchirchir Samoei arap Ruto, the president of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, the president of Cape Verde, Jose Maria Neves, and the president of Senegal, Macky Sall, with the National Order 'The Star of Romania' in the rank of Grand Cross as a sign of 'high appreciation for the exceptional contribution to the development of friendship and collaboration' between Romania and the four African states. 

As in previous visits, president Klaus Iohannis used a luxurious private plane for his tour in Africa. The external visits of president Iohannis have stirred controversy, especially considering the secrecy of costs, as the flights are carried out with luxury private planes, as reported by Free Europe in several articles.

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(Photo source: Klaus Iohannis on Facebook)