Swedish government has thrown its support behind Kenya’s bid for a non-permanent membership of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2021-2022.
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary (CS) Monica Juma said that Kenya and Sweden had made a commitment to renew the friendship that exists between them in promoting peace, security and trade.
Speaking Wednesday during a press briefing, Juma said that Sweden has partnered with Kenya regionally as far as peace making was concerned.
“We have had a chance to review our bilateral relationship growth in terms of trade and we discussed our regional issues which revolve around peace and security,” she said.
The CS added that they had had a chance to reflect on other issues of global importance including climate change and other multilateral actions and they made a commitment to continue working together in promoting the role of women in peace building.
She also said that Kenya has always worked out to see the global challenge of peace and security from the same side with Sweden and that they have offered support for Kenya in its bid for a seat in the United Nations Security Council for the year 2021-2022.
“It is our hope that Sweden will help us in this regard and we have no doubts that our aspirations to contribute to international peace and security stands strong,” Juma added.
The CS added that the ministry held discussions with the members of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) whose main aim was to provide to the council facts of the border dispute between Kenya and Somalia.
“We as Kenyans have always preferred to solve disputes in a peaceful and negotiated manner and we are hopeful that we will find a solution between us because our destinies are interlinked,” she stated.
Sweden Minister for Foreign Affairs H.E Margot Wallstrom said that it was important to have Africans represented in the Security Council and that their engagement with the Council would be more effective and just.
The minister added that there was a delegation from Sweden to map out and investigate on what areas could be of interest for the Swedish companies to invest in Kenya.
“Waste management, environmental and industrial companies are the main areas Sweden seeks to invest in. The work you are doing in fighting corruption will be very important in that if you manage to work on those issues, this will encourage investment as well as predictability,” said Wallstrom.
The CS acknowledged the huge interest that the Swedish government has towards Kenya and hoped that the relationship would continue to grow from aid to trade.
“We hope to see more young people visiting both ways so that they can underpin the relationship that the government is promoting. Your engagement with our country will create a footprint in the East Africa and by large the African region,” said Juma.
She also said that the government is committed to improving environment of doing business to grow productivity for Kenyans, Sweden and the world.
By Catherine Wangui/Judith Mshimba/Joseph Ng’ang’a
Sunday, December 22, 2024
Information For Development
