The opening ceremony was attended by representatives of the university’s management staff, experts and scientists, as well as diplomats, including Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Kenya Vsevolod Tkachenko. Principal Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Of the Republic of Kenya Dr. Abraham Korir Sing’Oei also participated in the event as a special guest.

In his speech, Nikolai Golovko noted the strategic importance of cooperation between Russia and African countries in the field of technological development. He spoke about the prospects of Russian-African cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), e-governance, human capital development and joint research projects. He also presented the e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Program for African officials, implemented by the HSE Center for African Studies.

Kenya was one of the first countries where the Program was  presented (on the site of the Ministry of ICT and the Digital Economy). In continuation of the cooperation, in December 2023, three Kenyan officials – from the Ministry of ICT and the Digital Economy, as well as from the State Department for ICT and the Digital Economy – participated in the Winter e-Governance Knowledge-Sharing Week for African officials in December, 2023.

In 2025, the HSE Center for African Studies prepared a digital profile of Kenya, an expert-analytical report E–Governance in Kenya 2025: Prospects and Challenges. It highlights key digital platforms operating in Kenya and was prepared jointly with UNECA experts.

In addition, the representative of Kenya – Gerald Makau Masila, Executive Director of the Eastern Africa Grain Council, participated in a round table discussion on food sovereignty organized by the Center on November 20, 2025 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He also reviewed the expert-analytical report Food for Africa: on the Way to Food Sovereignty, which reveals the principles of the new food policy of African countries.