President Uhuru Kenyatta will co-chair an international environmental conference in Stockholm, Sweden, on Thursday.
The two-day gathering, called ‘Stockholm+50,’ will be co-chaired by President Kenyatta and the host, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.
Ambassador Diana Kiambuthi, speaking to the press in her office in Stockholm before of President Kenyatta’s arrival, said President Kenyatta will lead the Kenyan delegation not just as a co-chair of the summit but also as a global advocate on environmental issues.
“As a result, His Excellency the President will be in Stockholm to express Kenya’s views on environmental concerns such as climate change, nature, and biodiversity loss.”
“It is very important for Kenya to be a part of this dialogue, to be a part of this meeting, to be able to articulate where we stand and, of course, to add a voice to the stakeholders who will be debating how to increase financing to combat the challenges brought about by climate change,” the Kenyan Ambassador to Sweden said.
Stockholm+50, according to Ambassador Kiambuthi, is also a commemoration of the first-ever international summit on environment, which took place in Stockholm in 1972 and resulted in the founding of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which Kenya proudly hosts.
Stockholm+50 takes place between the UN Environment Assembly’s 5th session (UNEA-5.2) and UNEP@ 50, which took place in Nairobi earlier this year, and the 2022 UN Oceans Conference, which Kenya and Portugal will co-host in Lisbon from June 27 to July 1.
Besides the Stockholm+50 meeting, President Kenyatta will also chair a special high-level segment on “the road to Lisbon” for the Oceans Conference as well as hold bilateral meetings with other leaders focusing on the global action on climate change.
On the bilateral front, the Kenyan Ambassador to Sweden said Kenya has enjoyed cordial bilateral relations with the Nordic country for many decades.
“In terms of scholarship and social development, such as in health, we have gotten a lot of development support.” However, we have had a policy shift as a country in the previous ten years, and we are now pursuing more trade than aid.
“We’ve been pursuing economic diplomacy with Sweden for the short years I’ve been here,” she remarked.
According to the Ambassador, Kenya and Sweden collaborate on a multilateral level as well as in the promotion of gender equality, which Sweden is well renowned for.
