Kenya has signed three bilateral agreements with Nigeria in a fresh campaign to expand its export markets to western and northern Africa. Foreign affairs cabinet secretary Amina Mohamed and Nigerian counterpart Olugbenga Ashiru agreed on a Joint Commission for Cooperation plan, a protocol on trade consultations and an MOU on mutual cooperation between the Foreign Service Institute of Kenya and the Foreign Service Academy of Nigeria. President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Nigerian counterpart Goodluck Jonathan who witnessed the signing of the deals on Tuesday at State House Abuja, Nigeria said they would boost ties between the two countries. The agreements, coming after weeks of strained diplomatic relations over drug trafficking claims, cover diverse areas deemed to be of mutual interest such as trade, tourism, education, technical cooperation and high level diplomatic engagements. The deal comes just weeks after Kenya’s exporters asked President Kenyatta to lead diplomatic missions to northern and western African states in search for new markets. Kenya’s trade with Nigeria is still minimal with official figures indicating that exports has fallen from a peak of Sh3.2 billion recorded in 2008 to Sh2.9 billion last year. Over the same period, imports from the western African nation has dropped from Sh169.8 million to just Sh48.6 million last year. Last year, KAM officials led its members to a market hunting mission to West Africa. Apart from Nigeria, the team also pressed for similar high-level missions to Ethiopia, Morocco and South Africa.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 06:33:04 +0000
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