Kenya and Romania are to explore strategies to boost trade and investment between the two nations and improve the imbalance of the trade in favour of Romania, as well as garner more investment in Kenya by Romanian financiers.
At a press conference with his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis, the President of Kenya, William Ruto, said in Nairobi recently: "Our discussions focused on the strategies and interventions by which we can enhance trade and investment between our countries." Iohannis was in the country on a state visit to boost the recently announced Romania-Africa Partnership.
"Kenya is a gateway to Africa, and is a democratic and stable country with very good prospects," Iohannis said.
The two leaders agreed to escalate cooperation across all spheres of mutual interest, including political, socio-economic, trade, cultural and diplomatic domains.
They witnessed the signing of four Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) aimed at strengthening bilateral relations.
They looked at relations in environmental protection and climate change, cooperation on sanitary veterinary and food safety, agricultural research and cooperation and the Foreign Service Academy of Kenya.
"I am confident that the implementation of these MoUs will escalate our relations into an effective partnership in the areas of focus and create conditions for Kenya and Romania to expand the scope of collaboration to cover even more sectors in the near future," Ruto said.
He called for a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war saying it had caused serious economic challenges in Africa.
"The war in Ukraine has created a dire situation in Africa. Commodity prices for vitals such as fertiliser and grains have escalated," he said.
Romania has invested in infrastructure that has been instrumental in transporting grains and other products from Ukraine to salvage the situation for affected African countries.
