President William Ruto's envoy held bilateral talks with a delegation from the Republic of Vietnam on Wednesday, April 16, during the 4th session of the Partnering for Green Growth and Global Goals 2030(P4G) summit in Hanoi.
In a statement on Wednesday, April 16, the Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya, who led the envoy, confirmed that she met with the Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Min Chinh and held talks centered on diplomatic relations between the two countries.
According to Tuya, among the key issues discussed by the two parties are how the two countries can create synergy and tackle transnational organized crimes.
"We discussed several subjects of mutual interest to our two Republics, including the shared desire to deepen diplomatic relations following the recent signing of an MOU on Diplomatic and Political Consultations in February," she said.
"We also discussed the need for concerted efforts to tackle the growing challenge of transnational organised crimes," she added.
The CS has further said that the two countries will reinforce their partnership in other sectors, including defence, manufacturing, universal health coverage, affordable housing, and food security.
"Kenya is particularly keen to partner with Vietnam in Defence cooperation, manufacturing, universal health coverage, affordable housing, and food security, sectors that underpin the Asian country's growing economy, which attained an impressive 7.09% growth last year," she stated.
Furthermore, Vietnam expressed its support for Kenya's desire to host the Global Plastics Treaty Secretariat at UNEP in Nairobi.
In recent months, the Kenyan and Vietnamese governments have been in close contact, especially following the apprehension of Margaret Nduta, a Kenyan woman who was nabbed in Vietnam for drug trafficking.
Nduta was apprehended by the Vietnamese at the Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport, after they discovered the drugs concealed in her suitcase during her immigration check.
Following her apprehension, Nduta was sentenced to death by a Vietnamese court, which found her guilty of drug trafficking; however, after uproar, especially on social media, the government kick-started negotiations to halt her execution and bring her back home.
However, in a statement on Friday, March 21, the foreign principal secretary, Korir Sing’oei, confirmed that a Kenya team deployed to Vietnam managed to gain access to Nduta and confirmed that she was in good condition. The PS assured that efforts, through diplomatic talks, were still ongoing to save Nduta from a looming execution.
