Kenya officially opens embassy in Rabat, signalling diplomatic reset with Morocco
The embassy was formally opened by Kenya's Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi and his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, in a ceremony attended by diplomats and invited guests in the Moroccan capital.
Kenya on Monday officially inaugurated its first embassy in Rabat, marking a quiet yet significant shift in its Maghreb diplomacy.
The move represents a diplomatic warming toward Morocco after decades of carefully calibrated distance, largely shaped by Nairobi's historic support for Western Sahara's self-determination.
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The embassy was formally opened by Kenya's Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi and his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, in a ceremony attended by diplomats and invited guests in the Moroccan capital.
Kenya's inaugural ambassador to Rabat, Jessica Gakinya, and long-serving honorary consul in Casablanca, Ali Bajabera Kenyan national who helped maintain ties in the absence of formal diplomatic representation, were also in attendance.
Kenya on Monday officially inaugurated its first embassy in Rabat, marking a quiet yet significant shift in its Maghreb diplomacy. (X/Musalia Mudavadi)
In remarks at the event, Mudavadi extended gratitude to Morocco's King Mohammed VI for enabling the embassy's establishment, framing the occasion as "a new level of atmosphere between Kenya and Morocco."
He added, "We are looking at consolidating our relations and cooperation."
The opening of the embassy represents a quiet but symbolic win for Rabat, particularly in light of Nairobi's recent backpedalling on its Western Sahara stance.
Kenya, which previously recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), has notably muted any recent public references to the territory's contested status—an issue that remains Morocco's core foreign policy red line.
What remains unclear is whether the Western Sahara question featured in Mudavadi's closed-door discussions with Bourita.
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