Uhuru meets May in UK, opens talks on Nairobi-London trade

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday, May 11 met U.K. Prime Minister Teresa May and sought a pact to guarantee Kenyan exports accessed the U.K. market on a duty-free quota-free basis after the country exits from the European Union.

At a landmark meeting at Number 10 Downing Street, President Kenyatta also spoke strongly about strengthening bilateral relations with Britain, and closer security cooperation, especially in regard to Somalia.

President Kenyatta who is in Britain to attend the Third London Conference on Somalia at the famed Lancaster House held this unique first meeting between the Kenyan leader and the British Prime Minister.

With the UK being Kenya’s third most important export destination after Uganda and the United States, the President’s agenda is about ensuring a conducive environment so businesses can thrive in order to provide much-needed jobs, and deepen security in Kenya and the region in order to foster growth and inclusive prosperity.

“It is Kenya’s desire to continue having seamless trade relations during and after Brexit. We wish to continue accessing the UK market duty-free and quota-free after the UK exits the EU,” President Kenyatta said.

President Kenyatta and Prime Minister May agreed on creating a working group to examine a new framework for bilateral and economic relations between the two countries to ensure predictability and continuation of the existing market conditions after Brexit.

The President and the Prime Minister also discussed Kenya’s counter-terrorism program in the context of deepening the security architecture for Kenya and the region, and the Prime Minister made commitment to support the program.

President Kenyatta also pressed for the re-establishment of a UK visa processing centre in Nairobi, to serve as a regional office for Eastern and Central Africa. Currently UK visas for the region are processed in the South African capital Pretoria.

President Kenyatta praised the PM for lifting the travel advisories that had adversely affected Lamu and Manda Island — which he said would lead to a significant increase in tourist arrivals from the UK. He reassured her that the government had taken extensive measures to bolster security in the area.

President Kenyatta further asked PM May to extend technical cooperation and financial assistance to Miraa growing areas to enable diversification and to minimise negative effects of the export ban to the UK imposed three years ago.

President Kenyatta also spoke of the benefits of mutual legal assistance to both countries, saying it had led to the tracing and repatriation of funds acquired fraudulently by Kenyan officials and stashed away in Jersey accounts.

The meeting between President Kenyatta was the latest in high-profile meetings between the two countries. UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Kenya last year while President Kenyatta met then UK Prime Minister David Cameron on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2015.