Initiated by the ISTC, a meeting with senior Kenyan officials took place at the Vienna International Center on 11 February on the fringes of the 2020 international Conference on Nuclear Security. The ISTC Executive Director David Cleave and the ISTC Senior Programme Manager and Diplomatic Advisor Kamen Velichkov met Ambassador Stella Mokaya Orina, Deputy Permanent Representative of Kenya to the International Organizations in Vienna, Mr. Ezra Odhiambo Odondi, Chairman of the Nuclear and Power Energy Agency (NUPEA) and members of NUPEA, the Ministry of Justice, and the Kenyan Permanent Mission in Vienna.

The discussion focussed on the prospect of Kenya becoming an ISTC State Party and possible cooperation between ISTC and Kenya in the context of ongoing EU-funded ISTC-implemented projects in Africa. Since 2019, the National Commission of on Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) is a Partner to the ISTC, while the Kenyan Bureau of Standards (KEBS) expressed an interest to become the same. Against this background it is becoming even more pertinent for Kenya to become the first ISTC State Party from Africa.

The representatives of ISTC and Kenya noted with satisfaction the numerous examples, proving that ISTC projects are useful and beneficial for Kenyan counterparts: Together with the consultancy ENCO, ISTC implements the EU-funded Project-60 Support to the EU CBRN Center of Excellence for Eastern and Central Africa in Nuclear Security. The CBRN CoE is based in Nairobi, and Kenya is a key participant in Project -60. ISTC has supported trainings by KEBS and has carried out a workshop and various other activities jointly with the Kenyan Young Generation in Nuclear. Dr. David Otwoma, Chief Analyst and Deputy Director, NACOSTI, is one of the key experts working on the ISTC – implemented EU –funded project MC 5.01 15B Support to Southern African States in Nuclear Safety and Safeguards. Thus Kenyan experience is made available to other African states, members of the Southern African Development Community.