Uhuru meets Chinese President Jinping for bilateral talks

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday led their respective delegations in bilateral talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

President Kenyatta is in China for the second Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forum.

A statement from State House said: “…the second Belt and Road Initiative forum, (is) a high level global meeting on infrastructure projects spearheaded by Chinese President Xi Jinping with an aim of connecting the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe.”

African Union envoy Raila Odinga is also in China but was not spotted at the meeting between Presidents Kenyatta and Jinping.

He was attending another set of talks on the thematic forum on policy connectivity at the opening session of the second Belt and Road forum in Beijing.

“There is need to align our infrastructure projects to national needs geared towards integrating the African continent,” he said on Twitter on Thursday.

Before he left for China, Mr. Odinga indicated that the trip was also a mission to seek funds for the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Naivasha to Kisumu.

He expressed optimism that the Chinese Government would loan Kenya Ksh.368billion for the second phase of the railway project.

According to him, the funding will help revive the Kisumu inland port that slumped following the collapse of the railway transport.

The new SGR line is expected to extend from Naivasha to Narok, Bomet, Sondu and finally Kisumu.

It is expected that the project will also provide more employment opportunities for Kenyans who live and work in the region.