- Kenya has achieved a bilateral agreement with Egypt signaling the arrival of great development projects from the country, seen by far as an African economic powerhouse.
- The agreement was made during the ongoing Development bilateral discussions in Cairo where Dr Alfred Mutua the current cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs engaged with his Egyptian Counterpart Mr Sameh Shoukry to agree on the important matter.
- The agreement is a major milestone in the countries diaspora affairs and earmarks the country for great things including a free visa entry to Egypt and awarding of Egyptian university scholarships to Kenyan students, among others.
Kenya has finally gotten into a bilateral agreement with Egypt through efforts by current Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Dr. Alfred Mutua to actively engage his Egyptian Counterpart Mr Sameh Shoukry to agree into mutualizing the two countries affair.
Dr Mutua who engaged Sameh at the ongoing Development bilateral discussions in Cairo oversaw an extremely productive discussion whose positive effect will start to be felt soon, when Egypt launches the free visa entry in April for diplomats and official passport holders and October for ordinary passports holders.
Now, the country is earmarked for great developments as a result of the agreement. The topmost discussions pertained how Kenya benefits from its agricultural products, with Egypt agreeing on a Kenya Egypt joint commission for cooperation to bolster the trade of products like Kenyan tea, coffee, flower meat and nuts and their export in Egypt. While the market of agricultural products in Egypt seemed more promising the two countries agreed that Kenya would also export wheat, Macadamia and other types of nuts as they worked on how the Kenyan meat would also find its way in the country seen by far as a leading African economic powerhouse.
However, although the discussion also touched on the export of Kenyan tea to Egypt, Egypt was still prided itself as the one of the world’s largest importers of the commodity from Kenya. Even with that, the two countries agreed on ways that would enhance the seamless export of the value-added tea to Egypt.
The agreement which will also touch on the augmenting of Kenya’s social, political and economic cooperation is deemed to bring instant and sustainable advantages to Kenya including in the already booming tourism industry.
The tourism industry they said would be impacted through ways like the flagship of rules supporting the free flow of tourists and goods in and out of Kenya; a move that will transform the livelihoods of many Kenyans who rely on tourism activities for sustenance.
On its part, Egypt was ready to help its sister nation by availing and subsiding fertilizer, given it’s a major supplier of the commodity worldwide. Egypt was also ready to lend to its model irrigation technique to kenya, which has greatly helped the arid country produce sufficient food for its people, as part of its subsidy to recoup Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands and set them up for more useful and life changing activities.
So far, following stipulations of the bilateral agreement, Kenya has flagged off Egyptian investors to launch their investments in the country including on businesses that pertain the construction of roads and rails.
“Kenya is a hub for regional development and Egyptian companies are welcomed to Kenya to set up factories and businesses because their market will also be the East African Market,” said Mutua.
Egypt also promised to in a few days time, make known to kenyan scholars, the number of scholarships the country can grant to Kenyan students so they can undertake various courses like mechanized agriculture or even marine engineering that are very beneficial in the current times. This, the two ministers said was crucial in enhancing the two countries diaspora relationship. Notably Dr Mutua and his counterpart underpinned the need for either of them to chart feasible diaspora frameworks that would necessitate interactions for both citizens when they are doing trade or working in offices in either countries.
Dr Mutua who showed great concern with how the Green Energy was fairing promised Kenyans that the country would in the next few months probably start selling green hydrogen to Egypt.
They also talked about how they would adjust the financial system so it can incorporate some more important affairs like climate change which were nonexistent when the continent’s financial system was charted. “So far, the level of our relationship has grown and we look forward to reciprocal visits by our Excellency Heads of State as we strengthen our friendship further,” the CS maintained.
Not leaving out the Nile diplomacy which nearly brought Egypt to its knees the two ministers agreed to finding a way out so they can get to a consensus on the rightful sharing of the water body.
“One thing is clear – as a continent blessed with natural resources including natural flow of water, we can find ways of reducing tension and formulate modalities that will be beneficial to all of us.” Mutua reiterated.
