By Roy Lie A Tjam.
Back-to-back activities were held in one day, to bid farewell to the Ambassador of Kenya, H.E Rose Makena Muchiri. It all started with a luncheon hosted by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday 30 March 2017.
For pictures during the lunch, please click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157679021096853
Thereafter, a Ceremony of Merit was hosted by Diplomat Magazine to honor the distinguished, Ambassador Muchiri. These were concluded with a farewell reception organized by the Embassy of Kenya in the Netherlands.
For additional Kim Vermaat’s pictures, please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157682178062856
At the luncheon, the acting Director for Sub-Saharan Africa’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Robert-Jan Slegert, thanked parting Ambassador Muchiri for her remarkable contribution as well as her leadership in the bilateral relationship between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Kenya, which has yielded strong economic ties.
As for the multilateral relations, Ambassador Muchiri also performed very well even though the odds were sometimes stacked against her. Slegert dwelt on the phenomena of a Dutch approach: combining Aid and Trade and Working together for effective private sector development.
It is in fact adapting to a new economic reality in which the private sector has a crucial role to play. Kenya gladly grabbed this idea and Ambassador Muchiri enthusiastically put in efforts to make it a success.
For instance, Kenya grows flowers that make up 38% of the Dutch flower market. Apart from the Ambassadors, also present at the luncheon was the technical director of the Friesian, Mr. Martin de Jong who recounted his encouraging positive experience of doing business in Kenya.
At the Ceremony of Merit organized by Diplomat Magazine, H.E. Rose M. Muchiri was presented with a Certificate of Merit as a token of appreciation. The certificate of merit is Diplomat Magazine’s official recognition to parting ambassadors in appreciation for their outstanding contribution in enhancing the bilateral ties between their countries and the kingdom of the Netherlands; not forgetting gratitude for their support to the Diplomatic Community and Diplomat Magazine.
The guest speaker at the ceremony was H.E. Jean Pierre Karabaranga, Ambassador of Rwanda, who recognized the Ambassador Muchiri for the mark she will be leaving behind as a valued personal friend. Karabaranga expressed his appreciation for the way in which Ambassador Muchiri led the ASfrica Group at the OPCW.
The last component of the Kenyan-style valediction was a tremendous reception hosted by the Kenyan Diplomatic Mission in the Netherlands. A large turnout, consisting of fellow ambassadors from as far as Brussels, all came to the Carlton Ambassador Hotel in The Hague to say asante (thanks) to their parting colleague and friend. Among the guests were also judges from the various international tribunals, the president of OPCW, civil servants, and many others.
H.E. Rose M. Muchiri will be returning to her beloved country, Kenya, to take up a position in a UN entity in Nairobi. We wish Ambassador Muchiri all the best in the new phase of her diplomatic career.
