Kenya And Romania To Strengthen Parliamentary Diplomatic Ties

By Samuel Ouma [caption id="attachment_105676" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Dragos Viorel Tigau and Moses Wetangula[/caption] Kenya and Romania have agreed to strengthen bonds between their Parliaments will foster greater collaboration between the two countries. Key areas of collaboration include; Trade, Security, Education, Engineering, Information Technology, Agriculture, Tourism and Management of Emergencies in the country. Speaking during a courtesy call on The Speaker of the National Assembly, the Rt. Hon. Moses Wetang’ula this morning, Ambassador of Romania to Kenya, H.E Dragos Viorel Tigau, committed to ensuring that he connects Members of the two Houses with a particular focus on the Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations to benchmark each other’s activities for the mutual benefits of the two countries. Ambassador Tigau acknowledged that Kenya and Romania have enjoyed a cordial relationship leading to supporting each other at international forums, including at the United Nations Security Council, where Romania supported Kenya's bid for the Non-Permanent Seat of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2021-2022. “There is a lot of interest between the two countries on Education, Trade and other areas that we seek to partner and engage in. Currently there are over 400 Kenyans who have applied for scholarships in various fields of study,” said Ambassador Tigau. Ambassador Tigau, who has been in the country for close to one and half years, noted that his office serves other countries, including Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi within the region, saying that Kenya was a central hub for dialogue on sustainable development in the region. He pointed out the need for Kenya to engage the European Union and identify potential collaboration areas on security, climate change, and other global issues that need urgent attention. Speaker Wetang’ula acknowledged the visit, terming it progressive as he said he was ready to support any positive idea meant for strengthening the relations of the two countries, Kenya and Romania, and deepening diplomatic engagements to benefit the people. The Speaker noted that Parliaments across the globe have a role in influencing policy for economic growth and development. He echoed the sentiments of the Ambassador on the potential areas of collaboration while promising to ensure that matters of security are prioritised through the engagement of the two committees of the two Parliaments so that they can engage and identify urgent areas of concern for immediate consideration. Speaker Wetang’ula also pointed out the need to protect the environment saying that Kenya was a heavy consumer of renewable energy. "Green energy is highly utilised in Kenya at about 82%, this is growing and soon, we might be 100%", affirmed Speaker. He said that Kenya has undergone a very tough drought period and that a conversation on mitigating environmental degradation was essential to the country. Speaker Wetang’ula, while nostalgically tracing his visit to Romania in 1978 as a student, he encouraged Romania and other countries in Europe to receive migrants who he said were migrating because they sought a better life and deserved proper handling. The two leaders agreed on the need to review international migration legislation on migration and settlement of those moving from countries of origin in search of opportunities. Kenya-Romania relations were established in 1968. Romania has an Embassy in Nairobi, established in 1974, while the Embassy of Kenya in Ankara is accredited to Romania.