Kenya to open missions in Azerbaijan and Congo, closes Bern Embassy

Foreign Affairs PS Korir Sing’oei. [File, Standard]

The Kenyan government has announced that it will open new missions in Baku, Azerbaijan and Brazzaville, Congo.

This move according to Foreign Affairs PS Korir Sing’oei was necessitated by geopolitical complexity and uncertainty, fiscal pressures and competing national development priorities.

The PS said that the move is part of the country’s careful review of diplomatic footprint globally.

“Such review will take into account the need to maintain diplomatic representation against Kenya's evolving priorities,” he said.

The review Sing’oei said would see the closure if some missions and the opening of new ones but this will be done in line with the furtherance of Kenya’s strategic policies.

He said that the opening had been done with cabinet guidance and the move is expected to bolster Kenya’s footprint in Central Europe and Central Africa respectively.

“The Kenyan Embassy in Bern, Switzerland has been identified for closure under Phase One of the exercise,” he said.

“The closure of the Embassy in Bern does not diminish Kenya's long-standing and friendly relations with Switzerland.”

According to Sing’oei, the coverage of bilateral matters with Switzerland will now be handled by Kenya High Commission in London, as was previously the case.

“Kenya will retain its diplomatic presence in Geneva, which will continue to represent the country in its engagement with the United Nations and other multilateral organizations hosted there.”

He said that the Kenya Kwanza administration remains committed to the welfare of Kenyans living in Switzerland saying that the Permanent Mission in Geneva will provide them with consular services.

According to the PS the closure is not immediate but will gradual with minimal disruptions to Kenyans abroad and partners.

He added that the relocation of Kenya's Mission from Port-au-Prince, Haiti to Mexico City, and the Mission in Havana, Cuba to Kingston, Jamaica had already been implemented.

The Bern embassy has been in existence for barely six years after it was officially opened on April 2, 2020.

In recent years, Nairobi has opened an embassy in Morocco to strengthen relations with North Africa and there have been plans to put up diplomatic missions in Vatican City, Copenhagen in Denmark and Hanoi in Vietnam.

Kenya in august 2026 inaugurated a consulate general in Guangzhou, China as it seeks to enhance commercial relations with the country particularly the southern part.