President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday received credentials from incoming Japanese Ambassador Ryoichi Horie at State House, Nairobi.
Ambassador Ryoichi pledged to take the bilateral relations between Kenya and Japan to new levels of success.
“I will devote all my energy towards strengthening the existing relationship between Kenya and Japan that is founded on our shared values and goals for the purpose of development,” Ambassador Ryoichi said.
The new Japanese ambassador pointed out that as a testimony of the close ties between the two countries, Kenya hosted the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-VI) Summit in August 2016, making Kenya the first African country to ever host a TICAD Summit since its inception in 1993.
President Kenyatta welcomed him and assured of his administration’s commitment to working closely with him to boost the cooperation and partnership between Kenya and Japan.
“Welcome to Kenya. I look forward to working with you to expand our areas of partnership for the mutual benefit of the people of Kenya and Japan,” President Kenyatta said.
Uhuru acknowledged Japan as one of Kenya’s key development partners whose cooperation has played a big role in the country’s development. Japan will host Ticad VII on August 28-30 in Yokohama.
Ryoichi succeeds Toshitsugu Uesawa, who left the country this year.
PROFILE
Ambassador Ryoichi Horie, has worked in various missions in Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Oceania. He is not a visitor to Africa as his first overseas posting was in Nigeria where he worked between 1982 and 1984.
He was first posted as ambassador in the Sudan, where I served from 2012 to 2014.
He has also held various positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Headquarters in Japan. During my tenure at the African Affairs Department, he visited 15 African countries, including Kenya about 30 years ago.
“Kenya is one of the most important countries in Africa politically, economically, and culturally. The relationship between Kenya and Japan is becoming increasingly important. This strong relationship is founded on our shared values and goals for the purpose of development,” he says on the Embassy of Japan’s website.
“As a reliable partner, Japan has supported the development of Kenya in various ways, including Official Development Assistance (ODA). Kenya is the biggest beneficiary of Japanese ODA in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, there are a large number of Japanese companies, organizations and individuals in the private sector who have shown their steadfast commitment to Kenya and contribute to its development.”
He is also accredited to Eritrea, Somalia and Seychelles.
