Foreign Affairs Minister Musalia Mudavadi will depart for Cairo, Egypt, for the signing of bilateral agreements on Tuesday.
Jacob Ng’etich, the Press director in the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary on Monday, in a statement on Monday said Mudavadi’s visit is a follow up on four MoUs signed between Kenya and Egypt in trade and investments, agriculture, tourism, energy and infrastructure development on March 8, 2024.
“Since the Joint Cooperation Committee meeting in March 2024, both countries have finalised eight MOUs that are ready for signing during the state visit,” the statement said.
Further, the statement noted that Kenya and Egypt have enjoyed deep and lasting economic, diplomatic, and political relationship for decades, and the Cairo visit seeks to strengthen it.
Egypt is Kenya’s second largest tea importer after Pakistan.
“Kenya’s total average exports to Egypt were valued at approximately USD176.04 million while imports from Egypt were valued at approximately USD 340.10 million,” the statement added.
The PCS will also lobby Egypt to support former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s candidature for the African Union Commission chairperson, whose elections are slated for February.
RUTO STATE VISIT
Mudavadi’s visit and signing of the MoUs will be in preparation of President William Ruto’s visit after cancelling it in June last year following Gen Z demonstrations..
President Ruto was also expected to attend a dialogue in Cairo to discuss the security situation in Somalia, the DRC and Sudan, and the visit provides and opportunity to review escalating fighting in Goma, DRC, and the situation in Sudan.
Ruto met Egypt Ambassador to Kenya Wael Nasreldin Attiya at State House Nairobi, on January 16 for a briefing on the visit.
“The relations between Kenya and Egypt go back to the 1950s when the North African country supported our fight for independence and freedom. These relations have blossomed in the past 60 years to include strong diplomatic and trade ties.
“Our trade has increased significantly, boosted by our membership of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and the Tripartite Free Trade Area,” the President said on X following the meeting.
On July 20, 2024 after the cancelation of the visit, Ruto called his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and discussed bilateral ties as well as the security situation on the continent.
“President El-Sisi and President Ruto confirmed that they look forward to further advancing bilateral cooperation across all domains and to promoting relations toward broader prospects in the coming period to serve the interests of both Egypt and Kenya,” Egypt’s Presidency said in a statement.
Later in August, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Egyptian Expats Badr Abdelatty met with President Ruto on the sidelines of the swearing-in of Rwanda President Paul Kagame and delivered a verbal message from El-Sisi that included an invitation to Egypt.
“Minister Abdelatty underscored the importance of consolidating bilateral ties by bolstering trade exchange, and increasing Egyptian investments in Kenya through public-private partnerships in the sectors of transport, infrastructure and irrigation,” Egypt Today reported.
President Ruto welcomed the invitation to hold a visit to Cairo, expressing eagerness to boost economic relations and hold continuous consultations and coordination on affairs pertinent to water disputes, resolving issues in peaceful ways, and establishing peace and security on the international and regional levels.
