Kenya has inaugurated its embassy in Rabat on Monday at a ceremony chaired by Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, Musalia Mudavadi, and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
With this diplomatic representation, Kenya and Morocco have opened a new chapter in their six-decade-long bilateral ties, especially as potential for relations at the economic, commercial and political levels is yet to be unleashed.
The opening of the embassy was described by visiting Musalia Mudavadi and his Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita as a step in the right direction to foster bilateral ties at all levels, and provides an opportunity for the two countries to exchange expertise in a number of cooperation areas.
Bourita noted Kenya’s stance on the Sahara issue has helped usher a new momentum in bilateral ties.
Mudavadi expressed his country’s support for Moroccan initiatives aiming to foster regional peace and security, citing the autonomy plan for the Sahara and the initiatives aiming to promote African integration.
Morocco, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, had proposed an Atlantic initiative that would help landlocked African states access global trade through Moroccan ports. It has also spearheaded efforts to promote energy security in West Africa through the Atlantic pipeline that would connect Morocco to Nigerian gas fields.
Kenya is also seen by Morocco as a gateway to eastern Africa, Bourita said, noting the cooperation potential in economic ties, investment and food security.
Mudavadi, who is leading a business delegation, will meet Moroccan businessmen in Tangier and Casablanca.
He signed deals with Bourita covering cooperation in the housing and urbanization sector.
Nairobi is also hoping to become a global hub for environmental governance, innovation, and sustainable development, an endeavor that Morocco backs, Bourita said.