On 7th December, 2019 , H.E Amb. Richard A. Opembe participated in a briefing session on the preparations for the 2020 UN Oceans Conference which will be co-hosted by Kenya and Portugal from 2nd to 6th June 2020 in Lisbon.

The briefing session was also addressed by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and  former Permanent Representative to the United Nations of Portugal Mr. Alvaro Mendonça e Moura, the UN Special Envoy for Oceans Amb. Peter Thompson, and the UN Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Liu Zhenmin.

H.E Amb. Opembe noted that Kenya is keen to have a wide and diverse participation by stakeholders during the 2020 UN Oceans Conference, and to advance the discussions on the linkages between SDG 14 and other SDGs and the nexus between the Sustainable Blue Economy and the Green Economy.