President Uhuru Kenyatta talks with Phillipine Mtikitiki, president of
AmCham Business Summit at the UN Complex in Gigiri, Nairobi on November
4, 2019. PHOTO | POOL
The United States has launched a Sh40 billion concessionary
credit line for American and Kenyan firms seeking to deepen exports to
the US at a time President Donald Trump is facing scrutiny over his
administration’s laid-back focus on Africa amid growing Chinese
influence.
The US’s top diplomat to Kenya Kyle McCarter
on Monday said the fund to be administered by America’s Export Import
Bank is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to boost commercial
ties with Nairobi and set the two nations on a path of a new "strong
relationship.”
The announcement came as President Uhuru
Kenyatta assured Washington of “stronger” bilateral ties and protection
of business interests of American firms.
In a speech
Monday on the sidelines of a two-day American Chamber of Commerce
(AmCham) Business Summit at the UN Complex, Gigiri, Mr McCarter said the
US will advance “fair trade and commercial ties with Kenya” and provide
aid “efficiently and effectively” in veiled attacks to what he cited as
a sharp contrast between US lending support to Kenya and that of China.
Beijing
has pumped billions of shillings in debt to fund Mr Keny's large
infrastructure projects under President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and
Road plan.
“We believe this is the start of a strong relationship between our governments,” said Mr McCarter.
“The US model focuses on long-term growth and sustainability, not debt."
President
Kenyatta, in his address, pitched his administration’s Big Four
projects to American investors, saying they offer lucrative business
opportunities in line with Kenya’s development blueprint that will also
address the low trade volumes between Kenya and the US and provide jobs
for Kenyans.
“My administration is seeking to create at
least 6.5 million jobs over the next five years so as to ensure that
Kenyans, and, in particular, the youth, can secure and maintain good
jobs,” said Mr Kenyatta.
Trade between the US and Kenya
has trailed other traditional partners over the last decade while
Nairobi has consistently accused Washington’s emissaries of spinning
counter-terrorism intelligence to hurt its economy.
Mr
McCarter also announced that his government, through USAID, has launched
a new funding opportunity that will solicit private sector solutions to
increase two-way trade between the US and 8 Kenyan pilot counties,
called Prosper Counties.
Kenya’s regional units falling under Prosper are Isiolo, Kakamega, Kiambu, Kisii, Kisumu, Makueni, Mombasa, and Nakuru.
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