Uhuru reaffirms Kenyas commitment to enhancing ties with Switzerland
President
Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday evening reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to strengthening
bilateral ties with Switzerland.
Speaking
in Bern at the start of his official visit to Switzerland, the first by a
Kenyan Head of State, President Kenyatta said the visit demonstrated Kenya’s
desire to reinvigorate the long-standing trade, economic and investment ties
between the two countries.
At
a one-on-one meeting with President Ignazio Cassis of the Swiss Confederation,
President Kenyatta reiterated that Kenya remains the investment destination of
choice in the East and Central African region.
Recalling
that during the official visit by the then Swiss President Alain Berset in 2018
several Swiss companies expressed interest to invest in Kenya, President
Kenyatta said he was glad that most of those companies have since finalized
plans to establish their presence in the country.
Some
of the areas the Swiss companies have interest in include pharmaceuticals,
textile, agro-processing, hospitality, Fintech, Information Communication
Technology (ICT), industrial parts and machinery.
The
two leaders also discussed the tourism sector where President Kenyatta stressed
the need to encourage people-to-people exchanges among the citizens of the two
nations.
The
Head of State also reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to the principles of the
framework for the Return of Assets from Corruption and Crime in Kenya (FRACCK)
that was agreed and signed by the Governments of Kenya, Switzerland, the United
Kingdom and Jersey.
At
the meeting, it was observed that a sum of USD 2 million (Ksh.233 million) held
by the Swiss Government, being proceeds of corrupt activities, was yet to be
restituted to Kenya due to the condition that the ongoing court cases on the
same must be concluded.
President
Kenyatta and President Ignazio Cassis agreed that the Governments of Kenya and
Switzerland will work together to expeditiously conclude the process of
repatriation of the funds. The two leaders also emphasized the need to
demonstrate that crime does not pay.
President
Kenyatta and President Ignazio Cassis also signed a Letter of Intent to
cooperate on research and science.
The
Letter of Intent builds on the Agreement on Training Cooperation for
International Peace Missions signed on October 13 last year to further
strengthen cooperation on training for international peace missions.
A
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two countries was also signed to
provide a framework of cooperation between the two countries to consult and
exchange opinions at different levels on bilateral, regional and international
matters of mutual interest.
At
the multilateral level, President Kenyatta welcomed the partnership between the
two countries in the advancement of international peace and security.
Speaking
earlier when he commissioned the Kenyan Chancery in the Swiss capital of Bern,
President Kenyatta urged Swiss manufacturing companies to increase their
foothold in Kenya by expanding and diversifying their manufacturing capacities.
The
President said Kenya is an attractive destination for investments and trade
given its position as a gateway Eastern and Central African region, adding that
the Swiss companies also stood to benefit from the huge market provided by the
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
“We
have some companies firmly established in Kenya and now we can help them grow
through the free trade agreement.
“By
using Kenya as a manufacturing base they can create jobs, exchange expertise in
many different areas. So I believe the potential is tremendous and I think
there’s a lot of work ahead of us,” President Kenyatta said.
The
President expressed the need for Kenya and Switzerland to explore more areas of
cooperation and particularly called on Nairobi-based Swiss companies that
manufacture health products to increase and diversify their products to cater
to the region's health needs.
“One
of the things I am happy to see is if we can increase our partnership,
especially in the health sector. I think again there’s plenty of room for
growth. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us that there’s no such thing as
national diseases anymore,” he said.
The
President further said the two countries needed to bolster their partnership in
the health sector, noting that the Covid-19 pandemic has proved to the world
the necessity of working together to tackle health challenges.
On
tourism, President Kenyatta recalled that in the 70's Kenya used to receive
about 130,000 tourists from Switzerland but the number has continued to
decline.
In
this regard, the President said the restoration of direct flights between the
two nations would help to increase the number of Swiss tourists visiting Kenya.
He
also expressed the need for the two countries to continue partnering at the
multilateral level, saying as anchors of peace in their respective regions they
should work on a common front and become voices of reason as the world gets
more polarized.
“Also
at the multilateral level, I think we have taken common positions on a lot of
issues and I think this is something we can continue,” the President said.
President
Kenyatta also emphasized that Kenya and Switzerland needed to exploit their
potential for the benefit of their citizens.
The
Head of State noted that through innovation, Kenya and Switzerland have been
able to grow their economies with minimal natural resources.
“…as
I stated last time, we are not heavily endowed with mineral resources, we count
on our human resource. And it is our human resource that has helped us grow and
sustained us.
“We
have used our human capacity to be able to become major economic centres. And
there is a lot of areas that we can cooperate in,” he said.
Kenyan
Ambassador to Switzerland Andrew Kihuran said the new Chancery, established at
the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, has been working hard to promote
opportunities for trade and investments by holding meetings with various
stakeholders.
He
pointed out that the new Chancery is ready to push for Kenya’s interests,
pointing out that the Embassy was instrumental in the development of Swiss
Sub-Saharan Strategy of 2021 - 2024.
“On
the economic scene, we have explored opportunities for trade and investment
through meetings with the chamber of commerce and industry and participation in
trade exhibitions organized by the Swiss-Africa business circle,” he said.
The
Swiss Ambassador to Kenya, Valentin Zellweger, who spoke at the event said the
new Chancery will go along way in enhancing relations between the two
countries, pointing out that Kenya is an important partner in the
Sub-Saharan Strategy of 2021-2024.
The
event was attended by Cabinet Secretaries Amb. Raychelle Omamo (Foreign Affairs)
and Mutahi Kagwe (Health) as well as Trade and Enterprise Development Principal
Secretary Amb. Johnson Weru.
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