- Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta was on a State Visit to South Africa from Nov 22-24, where he was hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
- Both the leaders agreed to boost bilateral trade and investment, broaden the trade basket, and also address the existing trade imbalance.
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta was on a State Visit to South Africa from Nov 22-24, where he was hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. During the meeting, Ramaphosa pledged to elevate the country’s relations with Kenya into a “strategic partnership.” Both the leaders agreed to boost bilateral trade and investment, broaden the trade basket, and also address the existing trade imbalance. During the SA-Kenya Business Forum , the two countries signed eight Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding in areas such as tourism, health, transport, and migration.
Ramaphosa urged both countries to clear away all obstacles to boost bilateral ties and also look at investing more in each other’s economies. On its part, South Africa agreed to work with Kenyan authorities to identify Kenyan products that have potential in the South African market. The two countries also agreed to ease travel between the two countries through consultations on the technical requirements on immigration matters, simplifying visa processes and enabling easier movement of people. Ramaphosa said that a task team at the level of the two presidents will examine ease of travel and address any visa-related challenges between the two countries as part of strengthening trade, investment, tourism and cultural ties.
Kenya is one of South Africa’s largest trading partners in Africa. Bilateral trade has recorded steady growth between the two countries, but investment has mainly flown from South African companies to Kenya over the past five years. Trade between South Africa and Kenya rose from R8.4 billion in 2016 to R11.6 billion in 2019 but declined to R7.7 billion in 2020 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Tatu City, one of Kenya’s special economic zones, has attracted almost $100 million of investments by South African companies
