Kenya’s High Commissioner-designate to Mozambique Philip Githiora presented his letter of credence to President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique in Maputo last Thursday, May 9, 2024.

Githiora was among new envoys who presented their credentials at Palácio da Ponta Vermelha, the official residence of the president of Mozambique in Maputo.

The Kenyan top diplomat in Maputo reaffirmed his commitment to “maintaining and growing the existing strong and cordial bilateral relations between the two countries.”

Githiora, who was redeployed from Kigali, Rwanda, where he held the position of charge d’affaires, is a career diplomat.

He has engaged in an assertive diplomatic outreach in Mozambique in a bid to strengthen ties and enhance cooperation.

Ahead of his official credential’s presentation last week, Githiora, who arrived in the coastal capital city of Maputo last February to take up his tour of duty has been actively engaging with his counterparts from various diplomatic missions in Maputo.

He had already met 39 out of 54 foreign ambassadors stationed in Mozambique’s capital for introduction and familiarization.

The latest foreign envoy Githiora met was Luis Miguel Munoz Cardaba, the newly appointed Apostolic nuncio in Maputo.

He also met with envoys from Argentina, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Morocco, Malawi, Norway, USA, the UK and Egypt, and others.

He has previously served as deputy Head of Mission in Eastern Europe, stationed in Moscow, Russia.

He is an alumnus of the National Counter Terrorism Center, a Kenyan multi-agency instrument primarily of security agencies built to strengthen coordination in counter terrorism.

Established in 2014, the NCTC has previously collaborated with Mozambique to address ongoing terrorism threats in the country’s northern region of Cabo Delgado.

Nairobi and Maputo last year agreed to exchange information and cooperate in defence matters in order to combat terrorism affecting the two countries.

“This agreement will serve to create concrete measures and know how interventions should be made.

Terrorism is not a limited problem, currently several countries are being affected, so it’s a global challenge and the entire continent.,” said Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi at a joint press conference with Kenyan President William Ruto, who was on a state visit to Mozambique.

According to Nyusi, Kenyan security forces have been supporting the country by training military units that have been fighting terrorists in Cabo Delgado for more than five years.

“The information exchange agreement is fundamental, as it allows us to know who is on the ground and where they come from,” said the Mozambican leader.