The ASEAN Committee in Nairobi held their annual food festival at Village Market.
The festival aims to spread happiness through food and foster people-to-people connectivity and dialogues between Kenyans, and beyond, and also to increase the visibility and understanding of the regional organization of Southeast Asia in Kenya.
The committee consists of four ASEAN member states with Diplomatic Missions in Kenya, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand with the food features Southeast Asian foods presented by the 4 countries' Embassies and their communities residing in Kenya.
Indonesia Ambassador to Keny Mohamad Hery Saripudin, who is the Vice Chair ASEAN Committee, thanked the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs of Kenya for supporting the festival, the only ACN annual event that is open to the public.
“We wish that the bonds between East Africa, especially Kenya,
and Southeast Asian states will continue to grow and deepen in all dimensions,”
he said.
Some of the foods explored during the event are Indonesian bakso
(meat soup), Malaysia’s nasi lemak, chicken adobos from the Philippines, and
mango sticky rice from Thailand.
All are prepared according to culinary authentic tastes to be
consumed together in harmony.
"Food is the bridge between cultures; it transcends borders
and learns to adapt to any local context. The tastes – sweet, sour, salty, even
spicy – facilitate the exchange of shared experiences, especially the joy
derived from delicious culinary traditions that bring people closer together,” Saripudin
said.
The committee’s current Chairmanship is under Thailand.
The Ambassador of Thailand to Kenya Morakot Janemathukorn and the Chair of ACN was unable to join.
Among the diplomats who attended the event were the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Assistant Director and Head of ASEAN Desk Benedict Watamba, Indonesia's ambassador to Kenya Mohamad Hery Saripudin, the Philippines ambassador to Kenya Marie Charlotte Tang, the high commissioner of Malaysia Ruzaimi Mohamad, and the Charge d’Affaires of Thailand Torsak Janpian among other guests.