SONKO AND SHEBESH PART OF THE ENTOURAGE.CHINA:ย Kenya signed agreements worth $5 billion (Sh425 billion) withย Chinaย on Monday, on the day Presidentย Uhuru Kenyattaย was accorded a formal welcome including a 21-gun salute at the Great Hall of the People, the most iconic building inย China.
Some $4 billion covered economic partnerships, wildlife protection, and the standard gauge railway linking the port of Mombasa and the border town of Malaba, which Presidentย Uhuru Kenyattaย said would provide better access to markets to goods from Kenya as well as Uganda Rwanda, Burundi and
eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Another $1 billion was for energy-related projects.
The agreements were a massive boost to the Jubilee Government, which has pledged to improve the lives of ordinary Kenyans through better service delivery that is underpinned by increased investments in all sectors of
the economy.
โThese agreements deepen our practical cooperation,โ President Xi told President Uhuru shortly before the agreements were signed adding thatย Chinaย supports Kenyaโs quest for industrialisation.
President Xi saidย Chinaย was also exploring other areas of investment, including in agribusiness, irrigation, fertiliser production and purchases, and technology.
President Xi saidย Chinaย would also support Kenyaโs plans to host a clearing house for the Chinese renminbi currency in Nairobi โ greatly boosting the Kenyan capitals credentials as a leading financial hub.
โWe welcome the investment in key sectors of our economy. The rail link, particularly, is important in the context of East Africaโs shared goal of ensuring quicker movement of peoples, goods and services,โ President Kenyatta said.
Presidents Xi and Uhuru pledged to increase contact betweenย Chinaโs ruling party and Kenyaโs rulingJubilee coalition.
They agreed that party-to-party contact was essential to bolster political and economic partnerships.-standardmedia.co.ke
Presidentย Uhuru Kenyattaย introduces the Kenyan delegation to Chinese President Xi Jinping during the official welcome ceremony at the Great Hall Of the People in Beijing.ย []Photo: PSCU]