The Mission in a historic ceremony, convened a seminar to reflect and commemorate 60 years of Kenya’s diplomatic journey at Insper Learning Institution in São Paulo on 29th November 2024. Incidentally, the Kenya-Brazil diplomatic relations is at 60 years this year.
H.E. Ambassador Lemarron Kaanto, the Head of Mission who was the Chief Guest, gave the keynote address while Prof. Flavia Piazza, the Associate Dean for International Academic Development at Insper, made the welcoming remarks on behalf of Insper’s President.
There were several panel discussions all reflecting on the 60 years of Kenya-Brazil diplomatic relations. The first panel, entitled Celebrating the Past and Envisioning the Future, comprised of H.E. Ambassador Lemarron Kaanto, Head of Mission, Embassy of the Republic of Kenya in Brazil; Ambassador Peris Kariuki, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Republic of Kenya in Brazil; and Professor Gustavo Macedo from Insper.
The panel tackled several crucial thematic areas, including the Brazil-Kenya collaboration at the higher education level, innovation, creativity and technology transfer, agribusiness cooperation and technologies, sustainability, and international trade aimed at attaining a balanced trade and looking forward. Thereafter, there was a guided tour of the guests around Insper campus.
The second panel focused on cooperation opportunities in international trade, investments, education, health, sports, food security, and culture between Kenya and Brazil. The panelists comprised Dr. Dennis Kiiri, a Kenyan Diaspora member and medical doctor; Mr. Patrick Korir, Secretary General of the Federation of Kenya Football (online); Mr. Renato Solano of Planner Investments (online); Luiz Durão, Insper professor; Bruna Arruda, Insper professor; and Ms. Beatrice Kinyua, Commercial Attache, Embassy of Kenya in Brazil.
There was also interaction with the audience through a question-and-answer session.
To conclude this commemoration, H.E. Ambassador Lemarron Kaanto was invited to a media interview conducted by the Insper Communications Department in line with Kenya’s public diplomacy to be able to promote Kenya as a strong partner for cooperation with Brazil in several sectors, inter alia, agriculture, education, sports, culture, trade, investments, and healthcare.
To mark this occasion, a plaque was presented to Insper to signify the commencement of a strong partnership between Kenya and Insper of Brazil in commemoration of 60 years of Kenya’s diplomatic journey, 60 years of Kenya-Brazil diplomatic relations, and the 25th anniversary of Insper.
It is envisioned that the institution will be able to engage with key Kenyan universities towards a partnership cooperation that will enable student and professor exchange programs, among other areas of common interest, as per the nation’s development plan.
