President Reuven Rivlin hosts official welcome ceremony for Kenyan President Kenyatta
(Communicated by the President's Spokesperson)
President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday morning (23 February 2016) hosted at his residence an official welcome ceremony for President of Kenya, H.E. Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta, who was on a state visit to Israel. The President welcomed his guest on the red carpet before they both stood for the national anthems, and reviewed a guard of honor. The President's then went on to deliver statements, before holding a working meeting during which they discussed the strengthening of bilateral ties between the two countries.
In his remarks to the media, President Rivlin welcomed President Kenyatta to Israel and spoke of the shared pain both nations had felt as a result of terrorism. He said, "When I heard of the terror attack in Somalia where many of your soldiers were killed, I was reminded of the terror attack in 2002 at the hotel in Mombasa, where 3 Israeli citizens were killed. In Israel today we face the ongoing threat of terror and hatred. We feel the pain together with you. Israel stands together with Kenya against those who pretend to speak in the name of Islam, as they murder innocent men, women, and children from all religions and nations."
President Rivlin spoke of the importance of the cooperation between the two nations, especially in the field of development. He noted, "Israel is proud of the cooperation between our peoples. Thanks to MASHAV we are working to educate people, develop agriculture, and protect the environment. It is my hope this cooperation will continue to grow and that the close ties between our people will become stronger. Your visit is an important step in building this friendship."
President Kenyatta thanked the President for his warm welcome and said, "It is my sincere hope that this visit will cement the bonds that are already strong, and link our two countries. Let me assure you Mr. President that we in Kenya hold Israel as a dear and very special friend. This is a friendship not only born out of a long history of fraternal relations, but is also manifested in very real and concrete corporation in a number of important areas," which he noted included, "defense, water resource management, fisheries, education, technology and scientific corporation." President Kenyatta added, "The war on terrorism is international and we must all join hands together to defeat it."
The two Presidents then went on to hold an extended meeting in which they discussed in greater depth the regional situation in Africa and the Middle East, as well as efforts to strengthen the bilateral ties between the two countries. Later this evening, the President and First Lady Rivlin will host a state dinner at their residence in honor of the President of Kenya's visit.
Kenyan President Kenyatta is welcomed on arrival in Israel by Minister of Religious Services David AzoulayCopyright: Miri Shimonovich
PM Netanyahu Meets with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem, met with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (Tuesday, 23 February 2016). The two leaders signed a joint statement on water that focuses on cooperation on water and agricultural issues and establishes a joint bilateral committee. After the signing, they met privately and then held an expanded meeting in which they and their delegations discussed security and the fight against terrorism as well as bilateral cooperation on - inter alia - cyber, energy, agriculture, water, irrigation and public health issues. Kenya and Israel have had close relations for decades. This special relationship has found expression in President Kenyatta's visit to Israel and in growing bilateral cooperation.
PM Netanyahu and Kenyan President Kenyatta sign joint statement on water
Copyright: GPO/Haim Zach
Prime Minister Netanyahu: "Mr. President, It's a pleasure to welcome you and your colleagues to Jerusalem. This is your first visit to Israel as the President of Kenya.
We have had a remarkable relationship between our two peoples. It's a partnership that dates back over half a century. Your father, Jomo Kenyatta, is the founding father of the Kenyan nation, and the leader of your country's struggle for independence. He was also the architect of the friendship between Israel and Kenya. He demonstrated that friendship most dramatically 40 years ago in helping Israel in the raid in Entebbe to rescue our hostages. This is something that has left a deep imprint on Israel. The people of Israel are grateful for that. And I'm personally grateful for that.
We have since developed our relationship in so many areas and it's a growing relationship. We speak regularly on the phone. We try in many ways to improve our relationship and bring it to new heights in so many areas.
The first area is a battle, our common battle against militant Islamic terrorism. Both our peoples have suffered at the hand of these, at the hands of these brutal terrorists. We have no illusions about them. They want to murder our people and we know that this is a common battle that we share with you and we're prepared to do a great deal more. In fact, Israel is willing and prepared to work with African countries in our common battle against militant Islamic terrorism.
I have to say that more and more African countries recognizes what you recognize - that Israel is a unique partner against this extremism, that Israel is a unique partner in the way that we can work together to seize the opportunities of the future. And we're going to discuss these opportunities and these challenges today and what we do in security, and what we do in agriculture, and what we do in water and irrigation and technology in every field that touches our national life. Israel is prepared to work with Kenya and the countries of Africa. And I want to say that you are, in many ways, leading this direction. And I welcome that not merely in the context of our relationship with Kenya but in our relationship with the countries of Africa. Israel is coming back to Africa and Africa is coming back to Israel.
And we can have no better leader showing the way than President Kenyatta of Kenya. So I welcome you in that spirit to Israel and I look forward to our discussions."
President Kenyatta: "Prime Minister, may I just say first and foremost thank you on my own behalf and on behalf of my delegation for the very warm welcome that we've received since we arrived here in Jerusalem yesterday evening. And to say that for us this is a historic visit, as you have just mentioned. The strong partnership between Kenya and Israel stems all the way back to our independence, actually prior to our independence given the fact that your government made formal communication even to my own father while he was still actually on the house arrest.
With the spirit of us working together, we are both countries have had to struggle for our independence, we have fought for our independence and as such we value the issues of sovereignty, of independence and for the right to self-determination. We are founded on strong principles of democracy, strong principles of freedom of expression, principles of freedom of religious expression and I think this brings us together in many ways.
Equally, as I have said before, we both live in challenging neighborhoods with similar security concerns and the cooperation between our two governments since the time of our independence has been formidable and we look forward that this particular trip will strengthen those ties even further.
We have no room for extremism, we must do everything that we can to protect the freedoms and the beliefs and the principles and the common values that we share and we look forward to further strengthening our cooperation in the security area. We look forward to partnering with you and with the rest of the world in combatting violent extremism and all this in order to be able to give our people the freedoms necessary to be able to enjoy a prosperous, stable, free society. So, I am looking forward to engaging with you and your government in these ends as well as further deepening our cooperation in agriculture, as you said, in irrigation, in water management and the experiences that Israel itself has had as well as information technology where we in Kenya can learn a lot from your own particular experiences.
So Prime Minister on my own behalf, on behalf of my delegation, I thank you for the welcome. We have enjoyed our stay so far and I am looking forward to some very fruitful deliberations that will see a further deepening of the partnership and relationship between not only Kenya and Israel but also the strengthening of the partnership between Kenya, I mean - Israel and Africa. So once again, thank you for the welcome."
President & First Lady Rivlin host state for President of Kenya
(Communicated by the President's Spokesperson)
President Reuven and First Lady Nechama Rivlin this evening (Tuesday) hosted at the President's Residence, a state dinner in honor of the official visit to Israel by President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta. The Presidents both delivered opening remarks at the start of the evening.
In his speech, President Rivlin spoke of the challenges which both countries faced, and congratulated the President of Kenya on his firm stance in the face of these threats. He said, "Both Israelis and Kenyans understand the value of independence; for our people, and for our country. With independence comes responsibility. In caring for the planet and for stability in the region, you show that you understand that the challenges we all face today are 'cross border'. Pollution does not stop at a border on a map. The spread of fundamentalist Islam and terrorism thinks nothing of invading sovereign states. You have taken responsibility in facing these threats. Israel stands, and is proud to be working with the people of Kenya."
President Kenyatta thanked his hosts for the warm welcome and said, "Israel is an ancient nation, but also a young country, full of energy and a people of extraordinary achievement. Great advances have been made here in a very short space of time. We are truly impressed not only by its breathtaking beauty and vibrant economy, but by the charm of its people. While we are here we all hope to learn a lot from Israel and her people, in areas such as agriculture, food security, investment and economic cooperation, infrastructure development including information technology and communications, and the never ending fact of defense and security. Israel and Kenya have enjoyed a long and enduring friendship and we as Kenyans are proud of this historic friendship."
He added, "I think it is time we took pride in hosting the first Israeli-Africa trade and investment conference in Nairobi."
President Kenyatta concluded by saying, "My hope is that my visit to Israel will open another chapter in our long history of relations for the benefit of our two countries and peoples."