Kenyan President Pledges to Open New Embassy in Morocco

Rabat – Kenyan President William Ruto announced on Thursday that he is committed to opening an embassy in Morocco before the end of the year.

According to a report from the East African, Ruto’s decision reflects his plan to strengthen ties with “one of North Africa’s biggest players.”

Ruto’s announcement came on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Kenyan Chancery in Dakar, Senegal.

Opening an embassy in Morocco means Kenya will take its diplomatic presence in the country from a consulate to a full embassy.

The election of Willian Samoei Ruto as president in August 2022 opened a new chapter in Morocco’s relations with Kenya.

Soon after taking office, Ruto revoked his country’s recognition of the Polisario’s self-proclaimed “Sahrawi republic” and endorsed Morocco’s stance on the Western Sahara dispute. Ruto stated explicitly that he would move to “wind down” the Polisario Front’s presence in Kenya. Ruto’s decision was welcomed by a number of key Kenyan politicians.

“The conflict around the Sahara is only an excuse to allow Algeria to continue to squander the wealth of its people on lost causes,” the then newly elected President Ruto said in justification of his decision to embrace Morocco’s side of the Western Sahara story.

“Instead of causing unnecessary conflicts and divisions within the African Union, this pan-African body must ensure that the territorial integrity of the 54 members is respected according to the AU charter which prohibits interference in the internal affairs of sovereign countries,” he added.

Growing Moroccan-Kenyan cooperation

In recent years, Morocco and Kenya have actively worked to boost economic cooperation. A Kenyan delegation recently visited Tangier to explore potential business opportunities in the northern Moroccan city.

Kenya has also struck multiple deals with Morocco’s state-owned phosphate giant, OCP Group, for the supply of phosphate-based fertilizers. The deal helped Ruto deliver one of his key campaign promises of lowering the prices of fertilizers for struggling Kenyan farmers.

Speaking in the aftermath of the signing of the deal in September of last year, Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita said Kenya’s agreement with OCP was instrumental in retail prices for fertilizers in Kenya dropping from Sh6500 ($53.92) to Sh3,500 ($29.05).

In addition to directly supplying Kenya with fertilizers, OCP launched a soil mapping project in the East African country in December 2022. The project aims to collect data to provide custom-made fertilizers to Kenyan farmers while optimizing quality and bringing down cost.