Paddy C Ahenda, Ambassador of Kenya to the State of Qatar, speaking to The Peninsula. Pic: Abdul Basit / The Peninsula
Like Kenyan community which is living an active life in Qatar by participating in various social, cultural and sporting activities, the embassy of Kenya in Qatar too is performing a great job in bringing two countries closer to each other.
Paddy C Ahenda , a former member of the Parliament of Kenya, took charge of his office as Ambassador of Kenya to Qatar a month ago with a vision to take bilateral ties to new heights of cooperation.
“It is my first appointment as a diplomat. Earlier I served as member of the parliament and used to contribute to the legislative process of the country,” Ahenda said.
Ambassador Ahenda not only wants to give a fresh spirit to existing strong Kenya-Qatar relations to serve his country but he says that he wants to serve the whole Africa.
He describes geographical shape of Africa as a walking human being. “Nairobi is the heart of Africa; it is the heartbeat of Africa,” he said. Ahenda said that almost all multinational companies operating in Africa had their headquarters in Nairobi.
“Also headquarters of two UN agencies, UNEP and UN-Habitat, are in Nairobi which indicates the importance of the heart of Africa,” the Ambassador added.
The Kenyan Ambassador said that Nairobi due to its geographic placement was hosting international companies from Europe and the US and had a huge potential for foreign investment in different sectors.
“Qatari investors can invest with huge profits in real estate sector as Kenya is a fast developing country in Africa and Nairobi is set to become one of the biggest cities in next thirty years. There exists huge demand in housing sector and investment in this sector are sure to bring lucrative returns within minimum span of time like one to two years,” the Ambassador added.
On Kenya-Qatar relations, Ambassador Ahenda said, “They are moving very fast towards more strength. I am here to enhance existing bilateral ties.”
Kenya and Qatar have the foundations to develop and expand their existing ties. “We have lot of bilateral agreements and MoUs,” he added.
Ahenda believes in boosting bilateral cooperation in sports and culture. “Qatar is in preparations to host 2022 FIFA World Cup. We are member of FIFA. Our runners are unbeatable in the world. We can enhance our ties through sports and cultural exchanges,” he noted.
Coming again to available opportunities of investment in Kenya, the Ambassador said that agri sector was another area of tremendous potential for foreign investment. “With thousands and thousands of hectors of fertile lands, cheap manpower and other infrastructure, Qatari businessmen can invest in agribusiness in Kenya particularly in the organic production of fruits and vegetables.”
He said that in near future he was set to have meeting with Qatari companies in this regard.
On bilateral trade, the Ambassador said that its current volume was not very big ‘but seeing the potential I will try to increase the volume in months and years to come.’
The Ambassador said that both countries were enjoying excellent political relations. “By the end of this month, former prime minister of Kenya is visiting Qatar while a delegation of around 20 parliamentarians will be participating in 140th session of General Assembly of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in April in Doha.”
Ahenda said that Kenyan members of the parliament during their visit to Doha would also have several meetings with Qatari officials.
To a question about Kenyan expatriates in Qatar, the Ambassador said that there were around 30, 000 Kenyans living and working in Qatar in different sectors and in particular in the security sector. “We hope that the number may increase up to 100, 000 by next year as Kenyan workforce is likely to join ongoing 2022 World Cup projects.”
He said that the embassy maintained contacts with community members and invited them on various functions organized by the embassy like Republic Day etc.
In security sector, the Ambassador said, Kenyans were the best and therefore deployed on many UN peace keeping missions.
With a gleam of happiness in his eyes, the Ambassador congratulated Qatar football team for winning Asian Cup and termed it a ‘big achievement’. He also said that Qatar’s preparations for 2022 World Cup were fantastic and Qatar would surely hold the most successful mega sporting event.
On tourism, Ahenda said that though many Qataris used to visit Kenya particularly due to its world-renowned safaris but the number could be increased manifold by showcasing other tourist attractions in Kenya including Great Migration of wildebeest from Masai Mara reserve in Kenya to Tanzania.
To another question regarding handling of blockade by Qatar, the Ambassador said that in his opinion the blockade had proved as a ‘blessing in disguise’ for Qatar.
“Due to this crisis, Qatar explored new opportunities and expanded its base of trade partnerships with many countries of the world.”
