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| President Uhuru Kenyatta |
President Uhuru Kenyatta arrived in Washington DC on Saturday afternoon for a landmark official visit that will see him hold talks with US President Donald Trump and also meet executives of top US companies to promote Kenya as a preferred investment destination.
The President, accompanied by First Lady
Margaret Kenyatta, touched down at Dulles International Airport at 4:00
pm Washington DC time (11:00 pm, Nairobi time on Saturday) and was
received by a team of senior US and Kenya government officials led by
Kenya’s ambassador to the US Robinson Njeru Githae.
Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amb. Monica Juma says the President’s visit to the US is significant in many aspects.
“It underscores the importance of Kenya-US relations, a relationship
that is historical and that has been growing in both breath and depth
over the years to cover a wide range of areas from security and defence
to governance, trade and investment,” Amb. Juma said in an interview
ahead of President Kenyatta’s arrival.
Amb. Juma sees the visit as an opportunity to strengthen the
bilateral relations with the most “significant country in the world
today”.
According to CS Juma, one of the items that will feature prominently
during President Kenyatta’s historic meeting with President Trump will
be how to increase Kenya’s export volumes under the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA).
“You know, we are a key beneficiary of AGOA. But it is also true that
there are a number of lines within AGOA that we could enhance. And so,
there will be discussions around this. And we hope we can also commence
discussions on post-AGOA arrangements,” said Amb. Juma.
Speaking early this month when she announced President Kenyatta’s
visit to the White House following an invitation from President Trump,
State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena said the meeting of the two leaders
is aimed at elevating the Kenya-US relations by strengthening
cooperation in areas of mutual interest including security, trade and
investment, governance and people-to-people interaction.
“The two leaders will also discuss regional and global matters, in
particular, regional peace and security, collaboration in the fight
against terrorism as well as international cooperation,” Ms. Dena said.
Addressing the press in his office in Washington DC on Friday, a day
before the President’s arrival, Amb. Githae said he is keen on ensuring
that the visit is fruitful.
“We do not want this to be just a symbolic visit. We want this visit
to have a lot of deliverables. There are a number of projects that we
are negotiating. We hope they will be signed on Monday in the presence
of President Kenyatta,” Amb. Githae said.
Amb. Githae pointed out that Kenya places a lot of emphasis on
economic rather than political diplomacy, adding that he was glad that
President Kenyatta honoured the invitation from the US President.
President Kenyatta will on Monday morning meet business executives of
leading US companies under the umbrella of the Business Council for
International Understanding (BCIU) before he heads to White House for
talks with his host President Trump.
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