The President inspected a colourful guard of honour in France on Monday as theRepublican Guard band played the country’s national anthem.
Uhuru Kenyatta, who is in France for a three-day official visit, was given the highest honour by a visiting head of state, in line with the French tradition.
He and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta were received by French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian at the Cour des Domes Invalides in Paris.
Cabinet Secretaries Amina Mohamed (Foreign Affairs), Henry Rotich (Treasury), Najib Balala (Tourism) and Eugene Wamalwa (Water) accompanied Uhuru.
The President was later taken on a familiarisation tour of the General Directorate for External Security, where French security officials briefed him on security matters.
Uhuru held bilateral talks with French President Francoise Hollande, on several issues regarding the fight against terrorism.
Details of the talks are yet to be availed but reports indicated they agreed to step up intelligence gathering and sharing.
Kenya has suffered several attacks by Somalia-based militant group al Shabaab while France has been attacked by ISIS.
The two leaders were also to discuss strategic partnerships for trade, investment and tourism.
Energy, health, education, sports, agriculture, water and culture were other areas of cooperation likely to feature at the meeting.
Amina disclosed on Sunday that a record seven agreements that will inject an estimated Sh29 billion into the Kenyan economy are expected to be signed at the end pf the leaders talks.
The visit is a “marker” of where the relationship between Kenya and France stands, she said, noting the country is considered a partner, not a donor, because of the nature of projects they have engaged in.
“It is a relationship that France would have even with the developed world. It is for joint ventures, resources coming into the country are investments, not aid,” she said.
Uhuru will also meet French importers of Kenyan products, the Secretary General of the Rungis International Market and Pierre Gattaz, the President of MEDEF.
MEDEF is an 800,000 member network of leading French entrepreneurs.
On Tuesday, the President will separately meet members of the French private sector and tourism stakeholders to explore ways of increasing the number of tourists to Kenya. France is one of the biggest sources of tourists for the Kenyan market.
Uhuru will also hold talks with Irina Bokova, Unesco director general, and meet Kenyans living and working in France.
In an earlier announcement of the President’s “critical State visits” to France and Germany, State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu said the two nations are seeking a strategic partnership that will stem the rise of violent extremism in Africa and the globe.
“The leaders will consider how to enhance existing intelligence sharing mechanisms and improve Kenya’s security infrastructure,” Esipisu said on March 26.
Source-the-star.co.ke
VIDEO: Uhuru inspects colourful guard of honour in France, holds talks with President Hollande
