Turkish President Erdogan in Nairobi to talk business

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is welcomed by his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta upon his arrival on June 2, 2016 at the State House in Nairobi. AFP PHOTO | SIMON MAINA 

By KIARIE NJOROGE, gkiarie@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in State House, Nairobi Thursday morning where he was received by President Uhuru Kenyatta ahead of talks expected to centre on trade and investment opportunities.
• Mr Erdoğan is leading a delegation including Turkish businessmen with the aim of strengthening economic ties.
• Turkey is the 18th largest economy in the world and is looking to compete more with other countries like China and western European nations that bag more of the big deals in Africa.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in State House, Nairobi Thursday morning where he was received by President Uhuru Kenyatta ahead of talks expected to centre on trade and investment opportunities.

Mr Erdogan, accompanied by his wife Emine Erdogan, is on a three-day trip as Turkey steps up a charm offensive in Africa to secure more trade and investment deals.

Mr Erdoğan is leading a delegation including Turkish businessmen with the aim of strengthening economic ties.

“The two presidents will later lead their delegations in bilateral talks. President Kenyatta and President Erdogan will later in the afternoon attend a Kenya-Turkey Business forum at the Villa Rosa Kempinski Hotel,” a statement from State House said.

This is the second time a Turkish president is paying a State visit to Kenya. The first was a three-day trio by Abdullah Gul in 2009.

Turkey is the 18th largest economy in the world and is looking to compete more with other countries like China and western European nations that bag more of the big deals in Africa.

Before Kenya, Mr Erdogan was in Uganda where he spent two days.

Mr Kenyatta visited Turkey in 2014 with the countries signing bilateral agreements for cooperation in energy exploration and exchange expertise on how to revitalise local manufacturing firms