DALLAS,
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday met with former President of the United States George W. Bush.
The
private meeting between President Kenyatta and Mr Bush took place at
the George W. Bush Presidential Centre in Dallas, Texas.
After
the meeting with Mr Bush, President Kenyatta was taken on a tour of the
George W. Bush Presidential Library by its director Alan C Lowe.
The
President then went into a luncheon within the Center hosted in his
honour by a group of Texas businesspeople in collaboration with the
United States-East Africa Chamber of Commerce.
The luncheon was attended by a select group of business executives mainly from Texas and included others from New York.
Addressing
the participants at the luncheon, President Kenyatta said he held
fruitful discussions with Mr Bush, who during his tenure in office
dedicated massive US aid to combat HIV/Aids in Africa.
“It was a great moment to meet up with him. He is a man who has done so much in the fight against HIV/Aids,” he said.
President Kenyatta told the business executives that Kenya was an investment destination that never disappoints.
“We
have one of the best established financial sectors in Africa second
only to South Africa coupled with one of the best educated work force
you will ever find on the continent,” he said.
The
President said investments in Kenya have one of the best returns in the
world and urged the business executives to take up opportunities to
invest in the infrastructure, ICT and energy sectors.
The
business executives included the Chief Executive Officer of Moneygram,
Pamela H Patsley with whom President Kenyatta held a separate meeting
after the luncheon.
“When it comes to business, Texas
businessmen are recognized as the engine of the American economy, I urge
you to bring more business to Kenya,” he said.
He told
the Americans that his mission to the US was to build on the bonds of
friendship that have existed in Kenya even before independence.
“The
United States supported our struggle for independence and many of our
independence leaders were educated in the US,” he said.
The
President said his meetings with other business executives in
Washington have been successful with many commitments by US firms to
invest in Kenya.
“General Electric is keen to partner
with us in the health sector to increase access to quality health care
for Kenyans,” he said.
He said a great deal of interest was also shown by major US corporations in Kenya’s energy sector.
“The diversification of power generation is also an area where we want American companies to play a role,” he said.
The President said his Government’s policy was to put more effort in increasing the production of green energy.
“Very
soon our total geothermal power production will rise to 1000MW but we
require additional investment to make it even more,” he said.
No comments :
Post a Comment