Thailand and Kenya have enjoyed cordial ties and close cooperation since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1967. Kenya opened its Embassy in Thailand in 2006 but had maintained an Honorary Consulate since 1992 and since then both countries have expanded cooperation in various sectors including trade and investment, health, agriculture, fisheries, amongst others.
Expat Life sat down with H.E. Mr. Lindsay Kimwole Kiptiness, the new Kenyan Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand with accreditation to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos PDR and Myanmar. Prior to his posting to Thailand in March 2021, Ambassador Kiptiness was the Director for Asia-Pacific Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kenya and the Deputy Head of Mission at the Kenyan Embassies in Turkey, Sudan and Botswana.
Which city were you born and brought up?
I was born in a village called Kartur, deep in rural Kenya, 600km, Northwest of Nairobi, the capital city. I grew up in a rural setting where I went to school every morning and, in the afternoon, looked after my father’s livestock. During weekends, my siblings and I either worked on the family land or looked after the livestock. School life was tough, often running up the hill, 10km every day to and from school without shoes. As a polygamist, my father had two homesteads set over 50km apart and he would sometimes send my sister and I to trek through the forest teeming with dangerous animals to the second homestead to take care of the animals. At the age of 12, I moved to the city of Nairobi to stay with my elder brother and was forced to a repeat class four to improve my English, which was not very good, having come from a rural setting.
At which age did you decide you wanted to become a diplomat?
Deciding to be a diplomat is a recent development. Whilst growing up, I wanted to become a teacher or an army officer, luckily, I became my first choice – a teacher. I did not however teach for long as I switched to a District Officer when the opportunity arose in 1995. After 10 years, I wanted a change to a more challenging environment where I could use my deep knowledge about the local environment to promote Kenya’s interests abroad, hence the decision to transfer my services to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In Kenya, you do not just join diplomatic service like any other public service, you must undergo a one year Post Graduate Diploma course in Diplomacy and International studies at the University of Nairobi as a precondition, which I did 2005. I have also attained a Master’s Degree in Peace and Conflict Studies in Turkey and a diploma in National Security and Defence Studies at the National Defence College of Kenya. I am currently writing a project for my second Master’s degree in International Studies, at the University of Nairobi and have done various diplomatic courses in the USA, India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Turkey and Sudan. I have visited over 30 countries in the course of my diplomatic service. I have served in various capacities in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs including as Director for Horn of Africa Division, where I handled the Sudan and Somali peace processes, been a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Personal Assistant to the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs amongst many other assignments at HQ.
Do you have any other diplomats in your family?
No, we have no other diplomats in the family, I am the first to join the Diplomatic service, but I will certainly not be the last, I already have two of my boys and other extended family members who want to follow in my footsteps to become a member of the Kenya diplomatic service.
How do you see Thailand today, in ASEAN, and in a wider context?
Thailand is an important and influential member of the ASEAN alliance and has a major role to play in the search for peace and stability in neighbouring Myanmar and the region in general. Other than the damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Thailand has a strong economy, driven by a broad manufacturing base, and tourism mostly for the export market, hence is a powerful regional economy. Through the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), Thailand has supported development cooperation not only with its neighbours but further afield in Africa and the Middle East and Kenya is a beneficiary of TICA’s capacity building programmes.
Due to its healthcare system, Thailand has become an affordable international medical hub and many patients come from all over the world for treatment of various ailments including cancer. In terms of managing Covid-19, especially the vaccination, the government of Thailand is doing a commendable job; imagine inoculating over 40 million people, more than half of the population despite all the challenges. Thailand is an important contributor to the maintenance of international peace and security and Kenya and Thailand have cooperated on many international issues of mutual interest.
Do you see any similarities between your country and Thailand?
Definitely, and tourism comes to mind. The pristine sandy beaches, common in both countries, have attracted millions of tourists from around the globe. Other similarities include, common environmental challenges and conservation credentials, tropical agriculture that includes the growing of sweet tropical fruits like mangoes, avocado and bananas. And traditional foods like sweet potatoes, cassava, melons amongst others are also common. A strong regional infrastructure, financial and communication hubs among other similarities. Both countries are influential members of regional organisations like ASEAN (for Thailand), and the East African Community (for Kenya), and subscribe to the ideals of South-South cooperation. I take this opportunity to invite and encourage Thai citizens and the huge expatriate community in Thailand to visit Kenya for a change of their holiday destination and experience the original home of the African safari. I assure them that they will not be disappointed. Witnessing the great Wildebeest migration and sand and sun bathing in the pristine and clean sandy beaches of coastal Kenya is truly unforgettable lifetime experience.
Do you have children, if so at what age and where do they go to school, university or work?
Yes, I do, some are already grown up and independent, the oldest one is 26, working in Kenya whilst the others are in university in Kenya and abroad. The youngest one stays with me here in Bangkok and studies at one of the international schools, in year 12.
How do you look upon your work here? How does an average day look like?
I do enjoy my work although much of it has been confined to the office and the residence, due to Covid-19. Much of what I set out to implement has been delayed by the Covid-19 wave that has hit the country for the last seven months. My typical day is diverse, sometimes, I rise up early to attend to internal office matters – perusing through local newspapers to make sure I am up to date on socio-political developments in the countries of accreditation, correcting and signing letters, reading official mail and letters and giving direction to officers on administrative and financial matters, signing off letters and documents, attending to consular issues where necessary, and reading reports prepared by officers before they are dispatched to headquarters. Occasionally, I chair staff and various Embassy committee meetings on matters that require me to give direction. On other days, I would attend virtual meetings with identified investors and importers, engage members of the private sector on strategies to deepen trade and investment cooperation between Kenya and Thailand and the other countries of accreditation. I would also engage identified universities to facilitate collaboration between Kenyan institutions of higher learning and their Thai counterparts. At the end of business of the day, I go home and change into my tracksuit and do a workout for 30 minutes with my son and spouse. Over the weekends, I love to take a swim and play lawn tennis.
Have you set some goals you really would like to fulfill before you leave Thailand?
Yes, I have an agenda to deepen and expand socio-economic and political relations between Kenya and Thailand and the other countries of accreditation. I intend to focus my engagements with stakeholders in both the private and public sectors in areas that are important to the national development of Kenya. These sectors include market access for Kenyan fresh agricultural produce, processed and semi-processed gemstones, leather products amongst other items. I also intend to intensify engagements with leading investors in the region to attract them to go and invest in Kenya in sectors including pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, agro-processing, blue economy, wildlife management and conservation, eco-tourism, and technology investment in the ‘Silicone’ Savanna’ of Africa, popularly known as ‘Konza Technopolis’ in Kenya that is fast emerging. Part of these engagements would be to promote human capital development and technology transfer.
Have you managed to travel in Thailand yet?
No, not yet, we arrived in the heat of Covid-19 so we have rarely ventured out. It has really been boring just sitting around the house or going to the office or nearby shopping malls for fear of getting infected with Covid-19. However, with the pandemic infection numbers going down, it is now time to move out and meet different people and experience the beauty of the country and its people. We have a ‘Kenya House’ in Northern Thailand that I would love to visit and plant some trees and of course the famous tourist sites of Pattaya and Phuket, that we used to hear about whilst in Kenya.
When you have a day off, what do you prefer to do? Hobbies or pastimes?
I love tending the garden and the trees, swimming, working out, playing lawn tennis and watching the English Premier League, especially if Chelsea, my favourite team is playing.
How many of your countryfolk are living in Thailand? When and why did Thailand become a desirable destination for your people?
We have close to 3,000 Kenyans in Thailand and other countries of accreditation. Most Kenyans in the region are either English teachers, IT experts, Missionaries, working with International Organisations, local companies or just business people. A few are married to locals and have settled here for over 30 years. Thai people are warm and friendly, their institutions love diversity and we have an opportunity to interact with them through the Embassy’s CSR and environmental diplomacy activities. Generally, the country is an attractive destination for many foreigners who include Kenyans. It is our desire to deepen people-to-people exchanges and would love to see more Thai people visiting and doing business in Kenya and Africa.
Do your country and Thailand have an exchange programme for students?
Yes, we do, Thailand provides many scholarships to Kenyan students at post-graduate level mostly. We have had exchange programmes between the Foreign Service Academies of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries, where young Foreign Service Officers attend training in Thailand. Kenyan doctors and agricultural officers also attend short courses on matters pertaining to Universal Healthcare and modern agriculture respectively. I intend to expand these exchanges to include faculty members in the universities and research institutions.
Any funny moment from Thailand that you’d like to tell us about?
Yes, we have had awkward or funny moments too. My arrival in Thailand at the beginning of the third wave of Covid-19 in March 2021 was uneventful. Usually, under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic and Consular Relations, an Ambassador is received with all the VIP accolades that go with the high office of the Ambassador including being picked with a VIP car at the plane’s exit door. But because of the fear of Covid-19, we were all herded through port health, regardless of your status (and Covid-19 doesn’t make allowances for status) with very strict social distancing. At one point, I felt like I was being harassed by port health officials and my attempts to explain who I was fell on deaf ears until a Protocol Officer appeared and saved the situation. We were finally ushered out of port health and immigration and were received by a Protocol Officer from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Another amusing experience was during mandatory quarantine, where I could not see my spouse for sixteen days despite staying in the same hotel. To see each other, we resorted to Zoom meetings, where we read the bible and prayed together. This is one advantage that came with Covid-19. At one time, my spouse attempted to ‘sneak’ a basket of fruits to my son’s room because she doesn’t eat a lot of fruit, she was captured on camera and received a stern warning. Covid-19 is therefore one of the most humbling experiences for us as a family and every country is really struggling to deal with it through trial and error. Today international travel has become a big challenge people are hostile, fearful or suspicious of each other of having the infection, even when one just coughs or sneezes.
Do you regularly meet up with your community?
Since my arrival, I have not had the opportunity to mingle physically with the Kenyan community in Thailand or any of the other countries of accreditation because of the surge in Covid-19 pandemic. I have however had several virtual meetings with the Kenyan community, and we maintain active What’s App groups to keep each other updated on consular matters and new developments. I have plans to mingle with them when the situation allows, especially during the upcoming Jamhuri (Independence Day for Kenyans) on December 12, 2021.
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