German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who recently paid a visit to US President Barack Obama in Washington, DC, talks with the US president and British Prime Minister David Cameron before the start of the working G8 dinner in Deauville, France, 26 May 2011 (on Flickr by White House/Pete Souza).
Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Federal Republic of Germany arrives tonight (Monday 11 July 2011) in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. This is Ms Merkel’s second tour in Africa since she became chancellor in 2005. On Tuesday (12 July), Merkel will meet Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga and pay visits to Nairobi University and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), where German scientists have been working for decades on ways to use farm animals as instruments for poverty alleviation.
As reported in Kenya’s Capital FM, ‘German ambassador Margit Hellwig-Boette said the Chancellor chose to make Kenya her first stop in her three-nation visit because of its strategic role in shaping the region’s political and economic stability.
“The Chancellor’s visit is a sign of recognition in Kenya’s role on political and economic development in the region,” the ambassador said. . . .
‘Ms Merkel arrives in Nairobi on Monday night and will stay on until Tuesday evening when she departs for Angola, the second in her tour of three African nations. She will be in Nigeria on her third day. . . .
‘During her busy schedule on Tuesday, Ms Merkel will hold bilateral talks with the President and the Prime Minister separately and later hold a joint press conference with Mr Odinga before heading to a State luncheon hosted in her honour by President Kibaki.
‘Later on at 3 pm, she will issue a keynote address at the University of Nairobi’s Taifa Hall and later visit the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) before winding her visit with a visit to the UNEP [United Nations Environment Program] where she will hold round table discussions with experts there mainly on renewable energy where German[y] is a world leader.
‘The ambassador said the visit to ILRI was significant because German scientists have been heavily involved in research there for several years. . . .’
ILRI is a member of the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers. The Consortium works to reduce poverty and hunger, improve human health and nutrition, and enhance ecosystem resilience through high-quality international agricultural research, partnership and leadership. ILRI and 14 other centres that are members of the consortium operate in over 200 locations worldwide, and work with a network of thousands of partners at all levels and across all sectors involved with international agriculture, and increasingly natural resources and the environment.
Read more at Kenya’s Capital FM: German Chancellor to visit Kenya, 10 July 2011.