Kenya, Algeria Sign Development Pact

President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is on a three-day state visit to Algeria, said that this partnership is critical for both countries if they have to increase their paces of development.

President Kenyatta and his Algerian counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika said that bilateral trade is important in development of any state.

Kenyatta singled out security threats saying that both countries have had their fair shares of threats and it is time that a cooperation to address such issues should be put in place.

“Algeria is facing security challenges emanating from Libya and Mali while Kenya is experiencing a similar situation from unstable Somalia and South Sudan. We need partnerships and cooperations that address such threats,” said President Kenyatta.

The President, who was speaking Wednesday evening in Algiers during a meeting with his host, emphasized the need to work together to steer forward the African continent.

TRADE PROMOTION

On trade, President Kenyatta noted that being the key economic growth and poverty alleviation driver, the two nations must struggle to put in place strong trade pacts.

He said Kenya and Algeria have agreed to accelerate the creation of mechanisms for exchanging trade information and promotion for the two countries to realize their full trading potentials.

“We also discussed how we can cooperate in areas of oil and gas given the Algeria’s experience in this field. We can cooperate more in that sector and also in the sector of renewable energy as well as the environmental matters.”

He said the two governments will set up mechanisms to ensure business communities from the two countries are brought together as channels for boosting investments and trade.

“Our governments will work much closer to set up a joint commission for cooperation between our two countries. We will be meeting at ministerial and other levels to compare notes and ensure that the discussions bear fruit,” added the Head of State.

By Maureen Murimi