SA, Kenya sign trade pact
8 August 2003
Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and her Kenyan counterpart, Kalonzo Musyoko, signed a memorandum of intent in Pretoria this week to consolidate relations between the two countries.
The agreement outlines the need to establish a framework on economic, political, technical, scientific, security and cultural fields based on the principles of equality and reciprocal advantages.
Speaking after the signing ceremony, President Thabo Mbeki said South Africa valued the important role that Kenya plays in the affairs of the continent and the east African region.
He said a joint commission headed by the two foreign ministers would be established to create the necessary institutions to implement the agreement, and that the process would be speeded up to ensure cooperation over a range of areas between the two countries.
On his meeting with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, on a three-day visit to South Africa, Mbeki said they had discussed
the enhancement of trade relations, pointing out that the trade balance between the two countries was 1 to 20 in favour of South Africa.
"More needs to be done to encourage greater flows of Kenyan products into the South African market and greater flows of investment from South Africa into Kenya," Mbeki said.
With regard to peace and security in the continent, Mbeki said South Africa could learn a lot from Kenya in terms of the deployment of peacekeeping missions.
On terrorism, which Mbeki said was not just a Kenyan but a global problem, he said South Africa and Kenya had to cooperate to share information and resources better in order to deal with the problem more effectively.
Kibaki said that Kenya "is prepared to open up trade and other aspects of communication with South Africa … and I am sure that the trade between the two countries will indeed improve."
Kibaki invited South Africa's business community to establish trade relations with their
counterparts in Kenya, saying such relations would give impetus to the envisaged improvement in trade ties between the two countries.
"We can say straight away that you can definitely join us and we shall be looking forward to doing business with you," Kibaki said.
He said that although South Africa was more advanced than the east African powerhouse, the latter also boasted genuine trade in specific products, such as cotton.
Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin will travel to Kenya on 29 August to discuss a framework to lay the basis for enhanced trade relations between the two countries.
According to South African High Commissioner to Kenya, Kingsley Makhubela, the South African private sector is already making inroads into Kenya in terms of trade and investment.
Source: BuaNews
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