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Ambassador Pieri leaves Kenya: his farewell

Farewell to the Italians and a look back at his mandate

08-09-2022 by redazione

Italian Ambassador to Kenya Alberto Pieri has ended his mandate and after four years in Nairobi, he returned to Italy yesterday.
Malindikenya.net has collected the words with which he bids farewell to his compatriots living in and visiting Kenya, and those in which he summarises his experience at the head of Italian diplomacy in the country and delivers his vision of the present and the future in terms of collaboration between the two nations and the development of partnership at various levels and in different sectors.

First of all, I would like to send a warm greeting to our compatriots.
It was a great experience to get to know this country, the Kenyans and the many Italians who work there. I believe that during my term of office we have always tried to do everything possible to improve all our services to Italian citizens, I am thinking for example of the consular services with the issuance of passports in a very short time, thanks also to the location of the fingerprinting machines also available on the coast. This is a peculiarity of which we are very proud.
I went through a very special period: I remember the great effort we made during the difficult period of the pandemic, during which we put in place an unprecedented system of assistance thanks to our network and to so many compatriots who helped us out. It is a source of pride for all of us that we managed to never interrupt our services and were always present despite all the limitations we faced.
It was thanks to all the staff, I can say that the spirit shown in those moments was that of a true team. It is our job, but in the difficult moments there was a common will to try in every way to prevent the limitations of connections from negatively affecting the delivery of consular services. We have tried to show that the Embassy is always close to the Italians, and we have made every effort in this direction, not only in terms of assistance but also by organising promotional initiatives of our culture and excellence, and events of various kinds.

We wanted to replicate on the coast initiatives that were usually only done in Nairobi, where logistically it is easier to organise them.
I am thinking of the two editions of the Week of Cuisine in the World, where we tried to promote all the components of the Italian presence in an integrated manner.
Personally, in addition to the entrepreneurs, I have tried to see the many cooperation projects, our missionaries and associations, and I have consolidated the idea that this is a country where we can increasingly establish solid cooperation, and that the effort we have made to strengthen relations is a process that must continue. I have reason to think that we have managed to develop a very positive relationship between the institutions and our community, which is one of the main ones in Sub-Saharan Africa and very diverse. On the coast, then, the Italian presence is special and this allows us to enhance not only the role of Italy as a nation, but also that of our compatriots who participate in various capacities in the development of the country, particularly in the tourism sector. The coast has enormous potential for development and Italy and its entrepreneurs can make an important contribution. Tourism is an incredible resource and there is still much to be done to enhance it, but I have seen positive signs in this regard.
With regard to support for our businesses, the visit of Minister Luigi Di Maio was significant. Our Foreign Minister had not visited Kenya for many years.
The meetings not only in Nairobi, but also in Somalia and Ethiopia confirm our government's attention to the continent and priority to the Horn of Africa region.
I believe that our companies find in Kenya a very favourable environment to bring their professionalism and I am convinced that Kenya has all the cards in order to grow further in several fields, also thanks to the collaboration with Italy. I cite as an example Eni's integrated biofuel project, recently inaugurated in Makueni.
In this particular period of crisis, Eni has focused on new sources of energy alternative to hydrocarbons and on renewables, where the potential is enormous. It has done this by creating many jobs. There will certainly be other possibilities for collaboration in this field, especially in geothermal energy, and Italy can have a say in mutually beneficial partnerships.

One of the signs of the priority we give to Kenya is the reopening of the Foreign Trade Office (ICE) in Nairobi at the end of the year.
I would also like to mention all the cooperation activities, where Kenya remains extremely important, not only at an institutional level, but with the many Italian non-governmental organisations, which constitute an added value that allows us to strengthen Italy's image and role within the country, especially now that it is going through a difficult time amidst climate challenges and the food emergency. Our supporting action becomes even more important.

In these four years, we have tried to act across the board, also because Kenya has many sectors where our collaboration can be manifested and concretised: from the political to the economic, cultural and scientific spheres.
In spite of the pandemic period, we have carried out initiatives with the University of Nairobi, and recently we have a scientific attaché to follow up and extend our commitments.
Not forgetting the Luigi Broglio centre in Malindi, which remains a great tool for implementing other initiatives and strengthening relations at the scientific level, with other agreements that will allow for further programmes. Last January, in fact, we finally signed the agreement with Treasury Ukur Yattani for the second phase of the integrated programme for the development of Malindi and its surroundings.
I am leaving Kenya at a time when a new president, William Ruto, is taking office, and I would like to emphasise that upon my arrival, one of the first things I took care of was organising the visit of Ruto, then still vice-president, to Rome.
We worked so that this visit could be as fruitful as possible for both of us.
Today, Ruto is Head of State and the intuition to maximise that meeting was no accident. I am sure that he too, at that time, was able to assess and verify personally and directly the potential of a collaboration with Italy, visiting promising companies and sectors.
Many things have been done and the feeling is that many more can be realised.

TAGS: alberto pieriambasciatoreistituzionigovernoconsolato

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