Kenyan companies are showing great interest in developing business with Kazakhstan

Nairobi, December 9, 2023 – The current state and prospects for the development of trade, economic and investment cooperation between Kazakhstan and Kenya were discussed by participants of a seminar organized by the Embassy of Kazakhstan with the support of the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs of Kenya and Kenyan National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as the Kenya Private Sector Association, representing large, medium and small businesses of the country in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, crop production, tourism, mining, light industry, petrochemicals, etc.

Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Kenya (concurrently) Barlybay Sadykov acquainted Kenyan companies with foreign and domestic policy, socio-economic course of our country, spoke in detail about the business climate in Kazakhstan, as well as investment opportunities.

Kenyan companies showed particular interest in the analysis of mutual trade with Kazakhstan, which amounts to 40-50 million US dollars and the possibility of increasing the range of export and import goods. In the course of a lively exchange of views, Kenyan companies invited the Kazakhstan delegation to visit tea and flower plantations, horticultural enterprises for growing vegetables and tropical fruits, textile factories and other industries.

In his speech, the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kenya, Patrick Nyangweso, drew the attention of Kenyan companies to the advantages of doing business with Kazakhstan, and also identified priority sectors of the economy for expanding trade with our country.

As a result of the seminar, Kenyan companies expressed interest in increasing Kenyan exports of tea, coffee, flowers, plants, exotic fruits, textiles and other goods to Kazakhstan, with the possibility of further access to the EAEU and Central Asian countries, as well as in the import of Kazakhstan food, industrial goods, agricultural products to Kenya. Kenyan companies offered to organize a business mission to Kazakhstan, and also invited Kazakhstan companies to visit Kenya.

In addition, the issues of building logistics for the delivery and storage of Kazakhstan goods were discussed during the visit of the Ambassador of Kazakhstan B.Sadykov to the office of the Kenya Ports Authority in Nairobi. The Head of the Container Terminals Division of Kenya briefed the Ambassador on the infrastructure capabilities of Kenyan dry ports, functional features and prospects for further development of the seaports of Mombasa and Lamu.

Kenya is the gateway to East Africa. Goods supplied to Kenya are then sent to other landlocked countries in the region - Rwanda, the Central African Republic, the DRC, Ethiopia, South Sudan. An agreement was reached to organize a visit of the Kazakhstan delegation to the ports of Mombasa and Lamu for a more detailed study of the possibilities of delivery and storage of Kazakh goods.