Kenya, Nigeria sign trade pacts

 

President Uhuru Kenyatta is received by his host President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria at State House, Abuja, Nigeria. PHOTO/PSCU  

In Summary

• The signing ceremony was witnessed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and President Goodluck Jonathan
• MoUs signed were on cooperation in police service and five-year multiple visa for prominent businesspersons

By PSCU
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ABUJA

Kenya and Nigeria have signed three agreements and four Memoranda of Understanding aimed at promoting trade between the two countries.


 

The agreements were on Trade and Agricultural cooperation which lay the foundation for businesspeople from Kenya and Nigeria to work together.

The third agreement was on immigration matters and seeks to ease the movement of people between Kenya and Nigeria.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and President Goodluck Jonathan at State House, Abuja.

MoUs signed were on cooperation in police service, five-year multiple visa for prominent businesspersons, cooperation in control of the possession trafficking in narcotics drugs and psychotropic substances.

One MoU was between Nigerian Association of Chamber of Commerce Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry which was signed at a business forum attended by Kenyan and Nigerian businesspeople.

The agreements were in a communiqué read by Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Amb. Aminu Bashir Wali at the end of bilateral talks between Kenyan delegation led by President Kenyatta and the Nigerian team led by President Jonathan.

The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the ongoing efforts to deepen trade relations between the two countries.

President Kenyatta and President Jonathan acknowledged that increased trade flows were not only important for the development of the two countries but were also critical in building intra-Africa trade –an important ingredient towards full integration of the continent.

“A Joint Business Council (JBC) was established in Abuja which aims at bringing together private sector players from Kenya and Nigeria,” the statement by the two leaders read.

To consolidate the African agenda, the two leaders affirmed their commitment to work together in promoting peace and security in the continent.

They expressed concern over the crises in the Central African Republic and South Sudan.

President Kenyatta and President Jonathan also agreed to continue supporting the Government of Somalia in its efforts to achieve peace and underlined the need for amicable solution to conflicts and disputes in Africa.

On terrorism, the two leaders agreed to consolidate bilateral and regional efforts to eliminate the menace. They appealed to the international community to help in addressing the global challenge.

President Kenyatta said terrorists will not succeed in their quest to instill fear and derail ongoing development efforts targeting Africa's transformation.

He said Kenya and Nigeria will work together to ensure the signed agreements are translated into instruments that will benefit the two countries, noting that Nigeria was already helping Kenya in its oil and gas exploration.

“An African country investing in another African country is what we would like to see more often going into the future,” President Kenyatta said.

President Jonathan said the acts of terror in Africa are diversionary tactics employed by groups that do not want to see the continent moving forward.

He commended President Kenyatta for the courage he has shown in not aborting his visit to Nigeria because of the terror attacks in Nairobi and Mombasa.

“These people will not succeed in preventing Africa from progressing. Our determination to move the continent forward is unstoppable,” President Jonathan said.

President Kenyatta was accompanied by Cabinet Secretaries Amb. Amina Mohamed of Foreign Affairs, Davis Chirchir (Energy), Phyllis Kandie (East African Affairs), Eng. Michael Kamau (Transport) and Adan Mohammed (Industrialisation)