The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) last Thursday accredited the first Ambassador of Kenya to CARICOM.
CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, in receiving the credentials of Ambassador Anthony Mwaniki Muchiri, said the occasion added a new chapter to the 2019 milestone year when Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta paid visits to Jamaica and Barbados, and the Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley paid a reciprocal visit to Kenya. After these exchanges a number of developments unfolded, some of which were placed on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
One such plan which was affected by COVID-19 was for Kenya to host a CARICOM and Africa Summit in 2020. However, other plans continue to engage both nations.
According to a press release from CARICOM Secretariat, CARICOM Heads of Government have agreed to seek collaboration with the African Union (AU) to co-sponsor a proposed Summit with European Heads of Government on the issue of reparations.
The AU also offered CARICOM participation in the African Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP), which would give the region access to vaccines at affordable prices. To this, LaRocque said member states are putting arrangements in place to benefit from ‘this gesture of African-CARICOM solidarity’.
The release also stated that CARICOM also welcomed Kenya’s support in its call on the World Health Organisation (WHO) to convene a Global Summit to address the inequity in vaccine access and distribution.
Ambassador Muchiri stated his commitment to continue advancing his country’s efforts to help confront the challenges facing the two regions. “To confront these challenges, Kenya believes in the importance of the two regions speaking in one voice, strengthening institutional relationships and crafting trade, investment, tourism and culture cooperation between CARICOM and Africa through a more robust Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) post-Cotonou framework as well as a new Intra-regional free trade agreement modelled along the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCTA) and within appropriate World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules,” the new ambassador said.
CARICOM and Kenya are also actively considering a draft Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of a Consultation and Cooperation Mechanism between the two sides. This is in recognition of the significant scope for stronger collaboration and cooperation, particularly in the areas of trade and investment, people-to-people exchanges, and sustainable development. CARICOM is currently finalising plans to have a resident ambassador in Kenya soon.
