PS Korir Singoei/HANDOUT

Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei has defended Kenya’s diplomatic mission in Rabat, Morocco, dismissing concerns over alleged language gaps at the embassy.

Sing’oei argued that the mission was fully staffed and equipped to advance Kenya’s interests in Morocco and across North Africa, pointing to the growing cooperation between Nairobi and Rabat.

He was responding to a post on X by a user who claimed that Kenya’s embassy in Rabat could not speak the local language and lacked an official translator, describing the situation as a diplomatic problem.

"Kenya’s embassy in Rabat, Morocco, cannot speak the local language, and that is a diplomatic problem. There is no official translator for that," the user tweeted.

However, the PS questioned how Kenya and Morocco could have made significant diplomatic progress if communication between the two sides was ineffective.

“How could all these happen if we were not communicating effectively?” Sing'oei posed.

He cited the expansion of bilateral engagement since Kenya established its embassy in Rabat two years ago, pointing out to high-level visits, that he says, helped accelerate cooperation between the two countries.

“Since its establishment two years ago, bilateral frameworks between our two countries have expanded rapidly following high-level visits,” Sing’oei said.

Among the engagements he highlighted was the visit to Nairobi by Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch during the Africa Forward Summit in May 2026.

The two countries, he said, have since expanded cooperation across several sectors, with 11 bilateral instruments signed during the inaugural Kenya-Morocco Joint Commission for Cooperation held in Nairobi in April.

He said the agreements cover areas including agriculture, justice, health, fisheries and aquaculture, gender equality and women’s empowerment, cultural cooperation, higher education, sports and wildlife, among others.

According to the PS, they also include arrangements covering scholarships, internships and the sharing of expertise, while the two countries have been working to strengthen trade and investment ties.

Sing’oei also pointed to ongoing discussions on air connectivity between the two countries, adding that Nairobi and Rabat were exploring ways to enhance bilateral air services and resume direct flights between their capitals.

The Kenyan Embassy in Rabat was established in December 2023 as part of efforts to deepen Nairobi’s engagement with Morocco and strengthen its presence in North Africa.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry describes the mission as an instrument for advancing Kenya’s strategic interests in the region, including trade, investment, people-to-people engagement and wider diplomatic cooperation.

Sing’oei’s defence therefore placed the language concerns against what he presented as evidence of active diplomatic engagement between Kenya and Morocco, pointing to the agreements and negotiations reached since the mission was established.