Technical Meeting on 2nd Kenya/Turkey Joint Economic Commission Maps out Areas of Cooperation Ankara, Turkey, Friday 4, 2014/MFA Press…Kenya and Turkey have agreed on a dozen areas of co-operation aimed at further growing the relationship between the two countries. Meeting today in Turkey’s Capital Ankara for the 2nd Joint Economic Commission (JCC), established in accordance with the Article 8 of the Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation between the two countries, the technical teams identified priority areas as trade, industrialization, transport, agriculture, tourism, education, health, immigration, science and technology, and development of arid lands. The sides agreed to encourage Export Promotion Centre of Turkey and Export Promotion Council of Kenya to collaborate in assisting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to expand exports by training in programmes aimed at improving skills in product development, marketing and value addition for exports. The collaboration will include expertise on market access and development, exchange of trade information and training in trade and business skills. Another area that will be explored for the benefit of the two peoples is cooperation in mining. Turkey has comparatively substantial and varied mineral resources and a more experienced and developed mining industry. Kenya wishes to tap Turkey’s expertise on this through bilateral cooperation hence the MOU on mining. Leading the Kenyan delegation in the negotiations, the Director of Europe and the Commonwealth in the Ministry of Foreign affairs and International Trade, Amb. Lazarus Amayo, said Kenya was seeking to benefit from Turkey’s experience as a newly industrialised country. “Kenya stands to learn a lot from Turkey especially in its national blueprint of Vision 2030. There is a lot of infrastructural development going on and lined-up in Kenya and the expertise of Turkey in this area will come in handy. The success story of Turkey in the area of medicine is also of interest to us,” said Amb. Amayo at the opening of the negotiations. On Turkey’s part the Deputy Director for Trade and Agreements from the Ministry of Economy Ms. G. Muge Varol Ilicak, said her country was ready and willing to cooperate with Kenya without any reservations. “We are ready, we are willing and we take Kenya very seriously being a top ten economy in Africa and leading in East Africa. The much that we know we are going to share for the benefit of the people of Kenya, said Ms. Muge. Turkey’s doctors and engineers are renowned in their work across the world and this was not lost to the delegations of both sides who underlined the importance of cooperation in the fields of construction and consultancy services. They pledged to have construction companies from the two countries cooperate and to participate in the projects together in Kenya and even third countries. The meeting the lays the ground for several agreement to be signed when President Uhuru Kenyatta makes a state visit to Turkey also discuss the good relationship that exists between the Kenyan National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) and the Union of Chambers and commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB)”. During the visit, a “Business Council Agreement between the two Chambers will be signed. This will be followed by the first joint meeting of Turkish-Kenyan Business Council on April 9, 2014 in Istanbul. The two sides noted that the signing of an agreement on technical and financial cooperation between the two countries will open a whole new front of relations that will greatly benefit the two countries. The agreement provides a general framework for dialogue and cooperation that includes health, education, water, sanitation, good governance, promotion of bilateral trade and investment, environmental protection, tourism, food security, agriculture, livestock and fisheries as areas of shared interests. The agreement will contribute to the improvement of social and economic relations and develop fruitful technical and financial cooperation between the countries. The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) will be the arm that Turkey will use in this area of cooperation as the relevant implementing body in technical projects and programs. Other areas for possible cooperation include energy, mining, culture, security, maritime affairs, agriculture, education, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and immigration and visa. Turkey is a country, with a domestic market of 75.6 million people, which enjoys one of the fastest growing economies in the world today. It has a demographic structure composed of a largely younger population with the average age of below 30 years, which creates a relatively inexpensive labour market. Furthermore, due to its close proximity to Europe, Middle East and Africa, Turkey stands out not only with its domestic market but also as a production base for such surrounding countries and as an important country serving as an energy corridor between energy exporting and consuming countries. (By Edwin Limo)
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 17:53:54 +0000
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