President Kenyatta has said Kenya and Egypt need to build strong relations based on mutual benefits.
Speaking yesterday when he met visiting Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shouky at the State House in Nairobi, President Kenyatta said African governments need to embrace unity to find home-grown solutions to challenges facing their people.
He told the Egyptian delegation to hold consultations with their Kenyan counterparts on how to initiate joint investments in agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
“Kenya and Egypt need to treat each other as partners and not only as markets. Egypt has been a strong buyer of Kenyan tea, therefore, the tea farmer should get better deal through value addition,” he said.
The Egyptian government early in the week donated four dialysis machines to Kenyatta National Hospital. Uhuru said his government plans to expand oncology services to all parts of the country, adding that the transfer of knowledge through training from Egypt will go a long way in managing cancer.
Noting that his country has a lot of experience in handling cancer cases, Shouky said Egypt will train 50 Kenyan health professionals on cancer affecting children. He commended Kenya for playing a front line role, through the Intergovernmental Authority for Development, in ensuring that peace and stability in Somalia, Southern Sudan and other parts of Eastern Africa prevails. The Egyptian Minister stressed the need for African nations to stand together against imperialism being perpetuated by the developed nations.
“We need to avoid manipulation by certain nations, which wouldn’t want strong African governments making independent decisions,” said the Egyptian minister.
President Kenyatta said dealing with terrorism needs a firm hand and therefore African nations need to work together to ensure they tackle terrorism without external interference. Present during the talks were Foreign Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed, her Agriculture counterpart Felix Koskei and Egyptian Ambassador Mohamud Talaat.
Source: Standard Media
