Poland in Kenya

Historical view 
The establishment of diplomatic relations between the Polish People’s Republic (PRL – Polska Reczpospolita Ludowa) and the Republic of Kenya took place on 13th of December 1963, following the signing of the agreement in Nairobi by the the representatives of both countries. The first Polish diplomat to be accredited to Kenya was Włodzimierz Dłuski, in the rank of charge d’affaires ad interim, in April 1964. Currently the Embassy of Poland in Nairobi is a regional institution, with five other East African countries in its territorial competence: The Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Madagascar, the Republic of Mauritius and the Republic of Seychelles.

Political cooperation after 1989
Until the end of 1980s political relations between Poland and Kenya did not go beyond the scope of political correctness. Only after the transformation of the political system in our country have they significantly revived. In 1993 the Minister of Foreign Affairs Krzysztof Skubiszewski paid a visit to Kenya, and in 1995 Poland was visited by theKalonzo Musyoka, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kenya. In the following years, there were many bilaterial visits at the level of minister and deputy minister of Foreign Affairs. Representatives of Poland also took part in conferences organized by UN Office in Nairobi. In 2016 the Minister of Environment, Jan Szyszko, participated in the UNEA2 conference, while in 2019 the Minister of Economic Development and Investment, Jerzy Kwieciński, took part in the UNEA4 conference. As part of the GoAfrica program there was several seminars and visits of the Kenyan and Polish businessmen to both countries. Interparliamentary cooperation has been developing since 1994. In 2016 the delegation of the Polish Senate headed by Marshal Stanisław Karczewski visited Nairobi at the invitation of the Kenyan Senate.

Kenya is a regional business, logistics and trade center in the Eastern Africa, accounting for around a half of the regions GDP, although corruption problems, high unemployment, difficult climate conditions and the threat of terrorism adversely affect its development and competitiveness. The country attracts foreign capital due to its strategic location and good infrastructure, with an extensive network of air connections, roads and railways, as well as the status of a regional financial center. Over the past few years, the real GDP growth in Kenya has been around 5% per annum. In 2018 according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s GDP increased by a record 6.3%, which indicates the highest economic growth rate in ten years. The main contributors to this economic success were results of the agricultural sectors, which account for about 30% of Kenyan GDP and are the most profitable, as well as industrial and transport sectors and the introduction of the Kenya Vision 2030 programme – a long-term strategy for the development of the country, focused primarily on industrialization and increased competitiveness. Kenya is characterized by a very young society – 80% of the population is under 35 years of age. In 2018 the Kenya population reached 49.7 million and grew by around 3% per annum. According to government projections the population of Kenya will increase to 60 million in 2030 and 75 million in 2050. According to data of the Ministry of Enterprise and Technology in bilaterial trade with Kenya, Poland has been recording a surplus for years. In 2018 Keny was our 94th export partner – we exported goods for a total of 39.9 million euros, and our 98th import partner (29.1 million euros). Kenya is the world’s lagest exporter of black tea and agricultural products. It is also one of the most promising export and investment markets in Africa. Future sectors for Polish companies on the Kenyan market include modern health services, food sales and agricultural machinery. The infractructural needs of the country are also a great opportunity for the construction sector – through the implementation of the large-scale Kenya development plan under the name Big Four, the government aims to modernize and industrialize the country, investing primarily in infrastructure. In addition, with the increase of population, the constructoin of residential, commercial and industrial facilities is increasing. Since 2017, the Foreign Trade Office of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency has been operating in Nairobi, whose task is to support Polish investors planning to enter the Kenyan market. Its manager is Michael Mazurewicz.

Links:
ZBH Kenya

The Polish Embassy in Nairobi has been taking part in the European Film Festival for several years. We also regularly show Polish films on our own. In recent years Polish musicians have also performed in Nairobi: Acello Duo, Trio Chopin on Strings, Jimek Dębski, Dorota Miśkewicz and the pianist Rafał Łuszczewski. The Embassy is involved in the promotion of Rafal Lemkin, the author of the concept of genocide, as well as Polish-Jewish relations (screening of the film “Hiding and seeking” by the American director Menachem Daum).

Kenya is the area of growing interest for Polish entities in the field of scientific cooperation. In 2018 a private university, the School of Social and Natural Science Vincent Pol from Lublin signed a cooperation agreement with Mount Kenya University regarding study visits of the academic staff and student exchange, the same cooperation agreement wa signed in 2019 by the College of Banking from Poznań with the Kenyatta Unversity in Nairobi. The cooperation is financed from the Erasmus+ EU programme. Many students from Kenya study in Poland, both as a part of scholarships (Polish Government partial scholarship sponsored by NAWA, the Ignacy Łukasiewicz scholarship), as well as for a fee. Every year several students from Kenya take up second and third degree studies in technical fields in Poland as part of the scholarship of the Polish Committee for UNESCO. Kenyan priests are also educated in Poland at the Stefan Wyszyński University and in the seminars. The interest in studying in Poland has a growing tendency, due to attractiveness of Polish educational offer, the prestige of diploma and lower costs of living in Poland. In 2017-2018 the Polish educational offer was presented on educational fair in Nairobi. Four Poles teach at Kenyan universities. There are also temporary residencies of Polish scientist in Kenya. 

Academic documents from Kenya are recognized by Polish universities, subject to legalization at the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Nairobi.

The website of the Kenyan Ministry of Education
University Education Comission website