Uhuru Makes History on His Special Trip to Europe

Uhuru Kenyatta during a past trip out of the country."/>On Monday, June 27, President Uhuru Kenyatta made his first state visit to Portugal, making him the first Head of State of Kenya to do so.

Uhuru took out for Lisbon, where he will also preside over the UN Ocean Conference alongside Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of Portugal and António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General.

Prior to his two-day visit, Uhuru is the first president to be recognized by Portugal, according to Judy Wakhungu, Kenya's ambassador to that country.

Together with the UN Secretary-General, "our two Heads of State will preside over the high-level inauguration of the ocean meeting."

This is pretty unique. It is remarkable because this is the first occasion in recorded history that the Republic of Portugal has honored a Head of State from Kenya," she said.

During the inaugural conference in New York, Kenya and Portugal were chosen to co-host the conference in 2020. However, because of the pandemic, the event was moved up to 2019.

The summit, which is often hosted by two countries, aims to hasten the adoption of novel, science-based solutions to problems affecting oceans and the world marine ecosystem.

The Sustainable Development Goal 14—which explicitly addresses the oceans—is the main topic of discussion during the summit. We frequently take for granted that the oceans cover more than 70% of the world, but this fact is actually very significant, the Ambassador continued.

In keeping with this, she emphasized the necessity of extending marine protected areas and preventing illegal, unreported, and uncontrolled fishing in Kenya's oceans.

Adding that the conference builds on the achievements of the first UN Sustainable Blue Economy Conference held in Nairobi in 2018, Wakhungu said Kenya had prioritized the blue economy as a major driver of her socioeconomic transformation strategy.

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