Embajada de Costa Rica en Kenia

This week, during the High Level Segment of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, H.E. William Ruto, President of Kenya, and H.E. Arnoldo André, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, participated in the side event "Galvanizing Momentum for the Global Plastic Pollution Instrument" as a contribution to mobilize political momentum and global partnerships in the fight against plastic pollution, focusing on the development of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution by the end of 2024.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kenya Ministerio Relaciones Exteriores y Culto UN Environment Programme

Galvanizing Momentum for the Global Plastic Pollution Instrument The event aims to mobilize the much-needed political momentum at the highest level to inject additional impetus to the ongoing negotiations to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment by the end of 2024.

In the wake of commemorating 203 years of Independence, Costa Rica, faithful to a state foreign policy that has distinguished it for decades, reiterates before Kenya's diplomatic community its rejection of violence and war to settle political conflicts and its uncompromised respect for International Law and International Humanitarian Law.

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Al conmemorarse 203 años de Independencia, Costa Rica, fiel a una política exterior de Estado que la ha distinguido durante décadas, reitera ante la comunidad diplomática de Kenia su rechazo a la violencia y a la guerra para dirimir conflictos políticos y su respeto irrestricto al Derecho Internacional y al Derecho Internacional Humanitario.

This morning, at the invitation of President William Ruto, we attended the launch of Kenya's Fifth National Action Plan, under the auspices of the Open Government Partnership. The Plan consists of nine commitments, including Climate Action, Open Contracting and Access to Information.

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Esta mañana, invitados por el Presidente William Ruto, asistimos al lanzamiento del Quinto Plan Nacional de Acción de Kenia, bajo los auspicios de la Asociación para el Gobierno Abierto. El Plan consta de nueve compromisos, donde destacan la Acción Climática, la Contratación Abierta y el Acceso a la Información.

Comunicado Conjunto sobre sentencia del Tribunal Supremo de Justicia de Venezuela

Esta mañana nos visitó la empresaria y emprendedora keniana Pauline Muthigani, para afinar detalles de su agenda de reuniones en el Buyers Trade Mission (BTM) 2024, la rueda de negocios más importante de la región centroamericana y caribeña, organizada por PROCOMER.

Desde la Embajada, nos complace muchísimo contribuir a que la participación de la señora Muthigani sea un éxito. Es la primera vez que una persona de Kenia participa en este evento.

On June 8th, 2024, the Embassy of Costa Rica in Kenya participated in the 9th Nairobi International Cultural Festival hosted at the National Museums of Kenya (NMK). The theme was ‘The World at a Glance’, committed to foster cultural understanding and global cooperation through the arts and as a way to appreciate cultural diversity, promoting unity and global cooperation. It featured traditional music, dance, and storytelling from various cultures, as well as arts, crafts, and artifacts representing global heritage, together with interactive sessions on traditional crafts, cooking, and dance and culinary delights from different countries.



The Embassy showcased some items from Costa Rica, including the térrabas and borucas masks, maps of Costa Rica, coffee, leaflets showing the touristic features in Costa Rica, biodiversity and forest coverage. Many inquiries from the public regarding Costa Rica and travel plans were attended.



The festival attracted thousands of visitors, including senior government officials, diplomats, scholars, industry executives and students. Embassies of Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Somalia and Thailand also participated.

𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐝𝐚 𝐝𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐞𝐧 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨 “𝐃𝐢𝐚́𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐨𝐬 𝐀𝐳𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬” (𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬), 𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐎𝐜𝐞́𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐚.

El pasado 7 de junio, las Embajadas de Costa Rica y Francia en Kenia, en el marco del Festival del Océano de Mombasa, coorganizaron la mesa redonda titulada “Diálogos Azules (Blue Talks): Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Océano 2025 - Reforzar el papel de la ciencia y los científicos en la elaboración de políticas y la toma de decisiones relacionadas con el medio ambiente”, con vistas precisamente a la Tercera Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Océano (2025) que copresidirán Costa Rica y Francia.

La Embajadora Giovanna Valverde Stark compartió información sobre la importancia del uso de datos científicos en la gobernanza de los océanos y subrayó el papel crucial del “océano global”, que Costa Rica reconoce desde el punto de vista medioambiental como una única masa de agua interconectada, que une, sostiene y conecta ecosistemas, personas, comunidades y países. Reafirmando el compromiso de Costa Rica con el Objetivo de Desarrollo Sostenible 14, hizo un llamado a la necesidad de cambiar nuestra relación con el océano a través de la comprensión de la conexión entre las actividades humanas y la salud de los océanos, así como la promoción de una transformación efectiva hacia una economía azul sostenible y soluciones basadas en la naturaleza, y enfoques basados en los ecosistemas. También informó sobre la resolución 6/18 presentada por Costa Rica y la Unión Europea en la UNEA6 en febrero del presente año, llamada "Fortalecer la gobernanza marina para abordar el cambio climático, la pérdida de biodiversidad marina y la contaminación" y la Estrategia Nacional de Carbono Azul lanzada el año pasado. La restauración y conservación del ambito marino-costero representa no solo seguridad alimentaria para las comunidades costeras, sino un enorme aporte a la mitigación, adaptación y resiliencia al cambio climático.


Acompañaron el evento los embajadores de Alemania, Sebastian Groth; Francia, Arnaud Suquet; y la Unión Europea, Henriette Geiger. También estuvieron presentes el gobernador de Lamu, Issa Timamy; y el director del Instituto de Investigación Marina y Pesquera de Kenia, Prof. James Njiru.


El Festival del Océano de Mombasa es un proyecto de EUNIC (Institutos Nacionales de la Unión Europea para la Cultura) y comprende una serie de actividades culturales y educativas destinadas a informar al público y técnicos sobre el impacto de la acción humana en el océano.

La segunda Reunión Mundial de Puntos Focales Nacionales del Quinto Programa de Montevideo para el Desarrollo y Examen Periódico del Derecho Ambiental, se llevó a cabo en Kenia del 3 al 5 de junio de 2024.

Hoy 6 de junio se está desarrollando una capacitación sobre el Acuerdo sobre la Conservación y Uso Sostenible de la Biodiversidad Marina más allá de las Jurisdicciones Nacionales (BBNJ), firmado por Costa Rica en setiembre de 2023 y a la espera de iniciar el proceso de aprobación por parte del Poder Legislativo.

La delegación nacional está compuesta por licenciadas Lorena Polanco y Mariela Iglesias, de la Dirección Jurídica del Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía, con el apoyo de personal diplomático esta Embajada.

On May 31, 2024, Ambassador Giovanna Valverde Stark participated at the Aga Khan Junior School Primary Years Programme exhibition as the guest of honour. The Student lead exhibition engaged learners in identifying, investigating and formulating solutions to real life issues or problems. It was the culminating project of the international Baccalaureates’s (IB) Primary Years Programme, which takes place all over the world during the final year of all the Primary Years Programme in all PYP schools. The exhibition displayed various students’ projects that they undertook to address various issues affecting the globe that were centered on the UN Sustainable Development goals (SDGS).

Ambassador Giovanna Valverde Stark engaged the students on the 17 SDGS and highlighted their importance and daily solutions that each person can contribute in simple ways. She shared best practices from Costa Rica e.g. abolition of the army that has seen the funds diverted to environment services and in provision of universal health and public education. She mentioned that in the late 70s Costa Rica had 80% deforestation which was reversed to 52% forest coverage with a vision to attain 60% forest cover by 2030. On climate action, she called for a holistic approach from agricultural activities e.g livestock emit methane gases as they exhale, vehicles pollution that can be reduced by using electric vehicles, walking, carpooling and biking. Called for proper waste management by separating the materials and with emphasized on plastic pollution that ends up in the oceans affecting the marine life. She taught the students on four Rs to address the plastic pollution, reduce, reuse, recycle and refuse. She also taught the students the importance of biodiversity.

Ambassador Giovanna Valverde Stark coordinated a visit of the Earth Alumni based in Kenya for a visit at World Agro-Forestry. This was the first reunion of Earth Alumni who graduated at different times where they have to share their experiences and the different sectors where they are currently working.

The visit started by a brief of CIFOR/ICRAF whose network reinforce and advance shared aim to unlock the potential of trees and forests to combat global crises. They are the leading global movement on sustainable landscapes. They major at five interconnected areas where trees can make a difference which include biodiversity, climate, value chains, food and equity. They connect science with action, creating solutions from the ground up through inclusive partnerships, transdisciplinary research, and demand-driven innovation. They deliver solutions in response to global and national challenges and opportunities through transformative partnership platforms, engagement landscapes, and flagship products that provide action-oriented insights into key global issue.

Then the delegation was taken through various laboratories to get firsthand information from the researchers:
Geo spatial lab- they work on geospatial data collection, land health monitoring and mapping, monitoring and decision support systems, capacity building, geospatial data management and data dissemination. They use Land degradation Surveillance framework (LDSF) to provide technical support for various online resources such as the Landscape Portal and geospatial data portals that support GIS work in various locations as well as the apps that support agroforestry and tree planting research e.g regreening app which can be accessed and utilized by the public. If well utilized it can be used to compute the biomass.

Soil testing Spectral Diagnostics Laboratory – the team emphasized on importance of health soils. They informed that poor soil health is recognized as a major cause of decline in agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. Developing low cost tools for measurement of soil nutrient is important for increasing smallholder farm productivity and improved management of natural resources through reliable measurement of soils, plants and agro inputs.

Infrared spectroscopy lab- they informed that they focus on the living component of soil to see how the soil biota which include earthworms, termites, fungi and bacteria can restore and sustain ecological functions. The biota play major roles in maintaining and improving soil fertility. The presence of trees is associated with a higher abundance of beneficial soil organisms across a range of agroforestry systems compared with adjacent monocrops.

Trees Lab- the Scientists informed that they have Agroforestry Tree Field Genebanks in in 19countries, 49 genebank sites and over 82 tree species leveraging nearly five decades of trusted science on the role of forests and trees in solving critical global challenges. They informed that they advocate for the right tree, right place, right time and right purpose. They help look at what trees, forests and forest-dependent communities have to say in order to address climate change issues and the effects of forest use and climate change on biodiversity and ecosystems and generate knowledge and data on how climate and ecological processes impacted trees in the past, and how they are doing so now, to characterize how trees will respond under future climate conditions, and how sustainable their future ecosystems will be which is crucial to minimize risk and avoid undesirable effects of increasingly frequent and severe droughts, floods and heat waves on trees and forest ecosystems, and on people’s livelihoods.

African crops consortium- the final visit was to the lab where the reserachers informed that they work to address malnutrition, especially hidden hunger, in Africa through nutritious local food crops. They help in integration of orphan crops into African food systems and to facilitate their genetic improvement whose aim is to ensure that the improved varieties and cultivars of orphan crops developed with the support of genomic information are released to farmers for cultivation. Making reference to the baobab tree that originated from West Africa then moved to South Africa then come to East Africa.

Special thanks to;
Dr. Eliane Éliane Ubalijoro, Chief Executive Officer, CIFOR-ICRAF/ Director General, World Agroforestry
Dr. Wanjira Mathai, Director/Founder Green Belt Movement
Faith Mukami, Head of Programmes Green financing and carbon credits, Office of the First Lady of the Republic of Kenya_ MaMa Doing Good
Aloyce Gonzaga Lekuton-Regional Director, Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), Nanyuki, Kenya.
John Awiel Diing- Admission Coordinator, EARTH University, Costa Rica
Bishar Mohamed, Program Coordinator, World Bank Climate Action in the De-risking, Inclusion and Value Enhancement of Pastoral Economies in the Horn of Africa (DRIVE)
Luis Fernando Ceciliano, Minister Counsellor & Deputy, Embassy of Costa Rica
Brian Musau, Administrative Assistant, Embassy of Costa Rica
Michela Natali, Administrative Assistant, Embassy of Costa Rica
Sarah Gatonye, Administrative Assistant, Embassy of Costa Rica

https://immersedinchange.gob.go.cr/program/

Program - Immersed in Change Go back

Atleta tico Gerald Drummond clasifica a los Juegos Olímpicos París 2024

Atleta tico Gerald Drummond clasifica a los Juegos Olímpicos París 2024 El vallista cronometró 48.56 (la marca mínima para clasificar era 48.70) en los 400 metros con vallas del evento en Eugene, Oregon.

During this month of May, we had the pleasure of welcoming Mr. Luis Fernando Ceciliano, Minister Counsellor and DPR, to the Embassy of Costa Rica in Kenya team. Kindly join us in welcoming him…

Fernando We are delighted to have you here! You will be a big asset within our mission, and we cannot wait to see what you will help us accomplish. We are so lucky to have your skillset and approach to bilateralism and multilateralism. Thank you for joining us!

On May 21, Ambassador Giovanna Valverde Stark attended the opening ceremony and unveiling of the exhibition ''Masks of the World'' on the occasion of celebrating the World Day Cultural Diversity Day for Dialogue and Development at the National Museum of Kenya organized by the Romanian Embassy in Nairobi, Kenyan National Commission for UNESCO in partnership with embassies in Nairobi. The exhibition aimed to strengthen multiculturalism and promote the rich traditions from various countries.

The Embassy of Costa Rica displayed various masks from the indigenous people from Costa Rica e.g. Borrucas masks and Teras masks which will be displayed at the Nairobi National Museum from May 21- May 26 accessible to the members of the public. Other embassies that participated included China, Philippines, Indonesia, Mexican, Serbia, Thai and Kenya in addition to some universities and schools.

The Embassy of Costa Rica in Kenya will be participating at EUNIC Mombasa Ocean Festival to celebrate "IMMERSED IN CHANGE" in Kenya as the event will be ongoing in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Costa Rica acknowledges the vital role of the the global ocean which unites, sustains and connects ecosystems, people, communities and countries.

On May 17, Ambassador of Costa Rica to Kenya Giovanna Valverde Stark hosted H.E. Mr. Luis Alejandro Levit, Ambassador-Designate of the Republic of Argentina to Kenya who paid her a courtesy visit at the Embassy. They discussed matters of mutual interest in order to strengthen the strong relations between the two countries as well as the expertise from the ambassador on the trade agenda and negotiations and engaged further on multilateral matters such as the importance of UNEP and UN Habitat

🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔Event alert!!!

The Embassy of Costa Rica in Kenya will be participating at the ''Masks of the World'' which aims to strengthen multiculturalism and promote the rich traditions from various countries. The event is organized by the Romanian Embassy in Nairobi and the Kenyan National Commission for UNESCO in partnership with embassies in Nairobi, museums, universities and schools. You are welcome to visit the exhibition between May 21- May 26 at the Nairobi National Museums.

On May 15th, 2024 Ambassador of Costa Rica to Kenya Giovanna Valverde Stark hosted H.E. Mrs. Romy Tincopa, Ambassador-Designate of the Republic of Peru to Kenya who paid her a courtesy visit following her recent appointment. They discussed matters of mutual interest bilaterally and multilaterally such as the importance of UNEP and UN Habitat as well as the mutual commitment to the international legally binding instrument negotiations to eliminate plastic pollution

On May 10th, 2024, Ambassador Giovanna Valverde Stark hosted the Chilean Ambassador-designate to Kenya, H. E. Mr. Patricio Aguirre, at the embassy of Costa Rica where the latter paid her a courtesy call. The informal discussion centered on how they would enhance and strengthen relationships bilaterally and multilaterally through UNEP and UN-Habitat.

On May 9th, Ambassador Giovanna Valverde Stark attended the United Nations Civil Society Conference which was formally opened in Nairobi. It was the 69th global conference and the first to be held on global south. It brought together various stakeholders from UN agencies, UN Member States, International organizations, youth change makers, academia, public opinion makers, and international media to discuss issues of global concern. The conference not only focuses on strengthening the civil society for realization of sustainable development goals, but also shapes a future of global and sustainable progress.

UN Civil Society Co-Chair, Carole Ageng’o highlighted that the conference has three objectives including inclusivity in which diversity of the civil society is recognized, being impactful where the civil society works together to support the implementation of the Pact of the Future, which is negotiated by the government and innovation noting a highly digitalized world with a lot of digital innovations which we can use to solve modern problems. The first day would reflect on the Pacts of the Future and the declaration of future generations and reflect on how to work together and what things need to be done to strengthen the collaboration.

The other UNCS Co Chair said that the conference is a step toward the Summit of the Future that will be held on September 22-23, 2024 at the UN headquarters in New York, adding that the civil society must also find ways of engaging with the government and bringing its voices to the table through processes that are available in the government.

UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya, Dr. Stephen Jackson said that the civil society plays a vital reason in multilateralism during the 21st century emphasizing that there is need for a multilateralism that has the societies’ voices powerfully and impactfully present. He highlighted that Summit of the Future and the Pact is structured around five categories in which all of them should be of concern to the society which include : Sustainable development and financing for development, International Peace and Security, Science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation / The Global Digital Compact, Youth and Future Generations / The Declaration on Future Generations and Transforming global governance. UN Resident Coordinator stated that the journey towards achieving sustainable funds would be made difficult by things like conflict, climate crisis, Covid-19 among others.

The Civil society organizations called for better engagement with the United Nations system

On May 6th the First session of the Executive Board of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) for the year 2024 was opened in Nairobi, Kenya. The Chair of the Executive Board, Hon Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, Minister of Urban Housing and Development of Nigeria, Ms. Zainab Hawa Bangura, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), Ms. Paula Narváez, President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Hon. Alice Wahome, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development of Kenya and the Acting Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Michal Mlynár, gave openening remarks as well as outlined key upcoming events in 2024, including the UN Summit of the Future in September, the twelfth session of the World Urban Forum in Cairo, Egypt and COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, November and reaffirmed UN-Habitat’s commitment to continue advancing sustainable urban development and the global agendas.

Ambassador Giovanna Valverde Stark commended the collaboration between the Government of Costa Rica and UN-Habitat in the Miravalles Neighbourhood in Curridabat, Costa Rica in 2023 where an Integral Urban Operation was undertaken. With the goal to improve Miravalles by visualizing the opportunity for social, economic and environmental transformation and greater integration with the city and the metropolitan area through comprehensive interventions that require joint public-private efforts, capable of driving changes reflected in inclusive communities and thriving cities.

El pasado 08 de mayo la Embajadora Giovanna Valverde Stark sostuvo un encuentro bilateral con la delegación de Arabia Saudita, durante la sesión del Consejo Ejecutivo de ONU Hábitat en Nairobi, Kenia.

La reunión se llevó a cabo con el Director Ejecutivo, señor Khalid AlBaker, del "Quality of Life Program" del Reino de Arabia Saudita y la señora Norah Alyusuf , asesora senior del proyecto. Se discutió sobre el programa y la Visión 2030 lanzado como concepto global destinado a mejorar la calidad de vida no sólo de los saudíes, sino también de todos los residentes y visitantes, además de garantizar una evolución positiva tanto en el estilo de vida como en la habitabilidad (seguridad, infraestructura, empleo y educación) en el Reino. El proyecto está compuesto por 170 iniciativas y ya ha logrado varios avances, el más notable de los cuales es la plantación de 1,2 millones de árboles mediante programas de vivienda sostenible en toda Arabia Saudita.

El Director Ejecutivo indicó que el objetivo de la reunión bilateral era darle seguimiento a la adhesión de Costa Rica al proyecto, en esta fase en la que desean ampliar su intervención a otras ciudades del mundo. Calificó a Costa Rica de socio potencial en esta fase del proyecto, en la que pueden compartir sus experiencias y aprender de Costa Rica, que ha estado en primera línea en la aplicación de soluciones basadas en la naturaleza para prevenir la pérdida de biodiversidad en las ciudades y los campos agrícolas.