The Clerk of the National Assembly Mr. Samuel Njoroge and the Director, Parliamentary and County Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Ambassador Samuel Gitonga have agreed to enhance working relations in a bid to facilitate Members of the National Assembly better.

The two were speaking this morning at Parliament during a courtesy call by Ambassador Gitonga on the Clerk. The two observed that given the role the two institutions play in promoting bilateral and multilateral relations, and in shaping Kenya’s Foreign Policy ,there is need for the two institutions to forge a strategic partnership 

In an effort to enhance communication, the two agreed to establish a virtual office which will be run by officers from both institutions. The office will help to facilitate correspondences such as briefs used by the Speaker and MPs when hosting foreign delegations or when representating the country in meetings out of the country. 

The Clerk further noted that such briefs offer crucial insights to the Speaker and MPs when planning for meetings with foreign dignitaries. Underscoring the need for MoFA officials to regularly apprise Members on the priorities and pillars of Kenya’s Foreign Policy, Mr. Njoroge said he would be engaging the ministry to facilitate training for MPs and relevant staff on the subject and other related areas. 

“It is imperative that when our legislators are meeting their counterparts from other countries, or when attending international conferences, they engage from an informed point of view. I will be officially requesting MoFA to help in building capacity to MPs and staff starting with the Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations”, said Mr. Njoroge.

The meeting also focused on how to improve facilitation to the National Assembly when hosting delegations or when Members are traveling out of the country on official duty. The National Assembly works closely with MoFA to facilitate visa and protocol services for Members  during their official engagements abroad. 

The meeting further explored ways in which MoFA can help entrench Parliamentary diplomacy through Parliamentary Friendship Groups. Currently there are over 20 such friendship groups between the National Assembly of Kenya and her counterparts across the globe. 

Usually, such friendship groups supplement traditional diplomacy especially in advancing the country’s social and economic agenda. They are ideally placed to build bridges between countries, unshackled by dictates from the Executive. They are premised on lawmakers are also well-placed to put across views which the official government representatives may not able to convey.