Uhuru heads to Jo’burg for Xi meeting after Paris talks

 

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping shake hands during a deal signing ceremony. Some African countries may seek to renegotiate repayment of existing debts to China as a way of helping their economies hit by lower crude and commodity prices. PHOTO | AFP 

By SANDRA CHAO-BLASTO

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday appeared to have embarked on his final leg of globetrotting before the year ends when he flew straight from Paris to hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Africa.

President Xi is attending the second summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Johannesburg.

Although his government has been under pressure to cut foreign travel expense, Mr Kenyatta’s office has frequently defied the austerity guidelines.

A dispatch from the Presidential Strategic Communication Unit said Mr Kenyatta — fresh from Paris Climate Change talks would meet President Xi by late Thursday.

The Jubilee administration has forged closer ties with Chinese government building on a foundation laid by his predecessor Mwai Kibaki. A newly elected Mr Kenyatta made his maiden State visit outside Africa to China in August 2013.

Among key outcomes of the State visit were commitments by China to support Kenya’s development and establishment of a Comprehensive Cooperation Partnership (CCP) of equality, mutual trust, mutual benefit and win-win outcome.

In September Kenya signed a deal with China that will see the Standard Gauge Railway project extended to Naivasha. The initial phase of the project was from Mombasa to Nairobi.

Last year Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Kenya where 17 agreements that touched on various segments of the Kenya’s economy were signed.

Key among them was the financing of the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway project, which has employed more than 25,000 Kenyan engineers and workers.