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Somalia’s Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre met Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in Nairobi on Tuesday to deepen their bilateral relations and economic ties in trade and investment to boost the economy of both nations.
Both leaders discussed on elimination of cartels and promoting of transparent and sustainable trade practices that benefit all stakeholders. Prime Minister Barres’s official visit comes on the heels of the third Session of the Joint Commission of Cooperation (JCC) between the two countries held in Nairobi. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepen bilateral relations in trade and investment. They recognised the opportunity for both States to complement each other’s resources, goods, services, and personnel resulting in a cohesive bilateral trade system, said Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in a joint communique.
The meeting held at the Deputy President’s Official Residence in Karen, Nairobi, was also attended by senior Government officials from the two nations. In his remarks, Gachagua noted that despite the rich historical and cultural ties between the two neighbouring nations, the bilateral trade was still minimal. He observed that in 2022, Kenya’s exports to Somalia amounted to USD124.5 million (Ksh.15 billion) and imports were USD581.7 thousand (Ksh.71.5 million). There is no doubt that these trade volumes could be increased by leveraging the Kenya–Somalia relations into tangible benefits by creating opportunities for its citizens.Kenya and Somalia further resolved to work on removing barriers to facilitate the movement of people and goods, promote investment and open up new markets of mutual interest.
Gachagua challenged the respective Chambers of Commerce of the two countries to consider establishing a Memorandum of Understanding amongst them to boost interaction between the private sectors. He stated that the enhanced bilateral relations will advance shared economic prosperity for the benefit of the Kenyan and Somali people. On admission of Somalia into the East African Community integration process in November 2023, the Deputy President said Somalia will benefit from the EAC’s regional infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, and energy networks. This, he said, will improve connectivity enhance transportation links, and boost regional trade.
Discussions between the two leaders also covered other areas of the economy such as defence, internal security, immigration, economy, education, transport and infrastructure, political affairs, among others. To foster sustainable agricultural and livestock development, the two Governments tasked their respective Cabinet ministries to initiate and finalize the necessary MoUs to promote cooperation in Crop Development, Livestock Health, and Marketing, among others.
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Both the leaders emphasised the importance of the implementation of the concluded instruments and directed the Ministries responsible for Foreign Affairs to develop implementation modalities, said Mudavadi in the joint communique. The leaders also noted that there were ongoing discussions to conclude several bilateral instruments in other areas, including Internal Security (immigration and police matters), Trade and Industrialisation, Standards, Agriculture, Health, Education and Training, Cultural Cooperation, and Sports, among others.
