H.E. Dr. Musalia Mudavadi, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs with H.E. Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Hungary, during his official visit to Kenya on March 27, 2024.
Kenya and Hungary have vowed to develop and broaden their already existing strong ties for the mutual benefits of both countries. This follows the successful official visit to Kenya by H.E. Peter Szijjarto, Minister of Foreign and Trade of Hungary on March 27, 2024. The Hungarian Foreign Minister was welcomed and hosted by his Kenyan Counterpart H.E. Dr. Musalia Mudavadi, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs.
The two Foreign Ministers held bilateral talks where they exchanged views on the current state of the relationship between the two countries which spans for six decades now. They acknowledged that the visit cements the strong bonds of friendship, as indicated by a series of high-level visits between Kenya and Hungary. It is in this spirit, that Kenya is keen to open an Embassy in Budapest to further strengthen the relations.
During the talks, the two leaders deliberated on key sectors of cooperation including; – trade and economic cooperation, agriculture and food security, education, environment and climate change as well as regional and multilateral cooperation.
The two leaders exchanged ideas on how to improve the trade balance between Kenya and Hungary and urged the Hungarian business delegations to explore the vast untapped investment potential in Kenya.
“Indeed, Hungary is a valuable partner of Kenya, I wish to express our deepest appreciation for the support provided by the Government of Hungary through the “Stipendium Hungarian Scholarship,” which offers 200 scholarships annually to Kenyan Students in different fields in Budapest,” PCS Mudavadi stated.
On the agricultural sector, the two sides signed an agreement on financing two key projects by Hungary which include; rehabilitation and upgrading of the pumping station in Ahero Irrigation Scheme and the establishment of the Kabonyo Regional Service and Training Center of Excellence both in Kisumu County. These projects are aimed at realisation of food security in the country and the region at large.
On the energy sector, H.E Szijjarto expressed Hungary’s commitment to share its experience and best practices with Kenya on the development of nuclear energy to foster social, scientific and economic development in the country. The two sides signed an MOU on cooperation in the field of training and education of atomic industry on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The MoU forms a bilateral framework for Kenya to benefit from skills development and capacity building in nuclear energy as the country prepares to build the necessary infrastructure for the generation of nuclear energy.
The Foreign Ministers also agreed to work together to address the existential threat posed by climate change, including increasing efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission, strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity by prioritizing green growth and advocating for a more reformed and inclusive global climate financing framework.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary further sought support from Hungary on H.E. the President William Ruto’s global agenda on climate action, biodiversity protection and the need to accelerate green growth.
“We have also agreed to work together in addressing the global dialogue in financing for development, promotion on inclusivity and equality as well as teaming up to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” he added.
Dr. Mudavadi concluded by reaffirming Kenya’s commitment to deepen and broaden relations with Hungary, highlighting that, he looked forward to many more engagements in the future.
