By Faridah n Kulumba
Africa-Press-Kenya On 17th March 2022, President Uhuru Kenyatta separately held telephone conversations with Prime Ministers Fumio Kishida of Japan and Justin Trudeau of Canada.
Japan Kenya conversation
Solidarity- PM Kishida updated President Uhuru on the situation following the 16 March devastating earthquake in the East Asian country. Uhuru expressed Kenya’s solidarity with the government and people of Japan as the relevant authorities continue to monitor the development.
Mutual interest
The two leaders also discussed other issues of mutual interest to Kenya and Japan including the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8) that will be hosted by Tunisia in August this year.
Japan-Kenya relations
The two nations established diplomatic relations in 1963, and they have since enjoyed warm and cordial relations with resident diplomatic missions in their respective capitals at the Ambassadorial level. Japan opened its Mission in Nairobi in 1964 and Kenya reciprocated in 1979. Kenya as the gateway and hub for East and Central Africa occupies a very special position in Japan’s diplomatic relations within the region. Currently, Kenya hosts one of the largest Japanese communities in Africa (about 800 as of October 2016). Kenyan capital City Nairobi is the Regional Headquarters for Japan’s Cooperation Agencies such as JICA, JETRO, and JBIC. By 2018, over 104 Japanese companies were operating in Kenya, of which 54 have a physical presence in Kenya.
Trade ties
Kenya’s commitment to bolstering its engagement with Japan along the TICAD framework was demonstrated by the country hosting TICAD VI Summit on 27th-28th August 2016 in Nairobi. This was the first time for the TICAD conference to be held outside Japan since its inception in 1993.
Support
In 2011, when Japan was facing the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster Kenya donated Kes.82 million (US$1 million to Japan. In 2008 Kenya’s development assistance from Japan consisted of 215.7 billion yen (US$1.8 billion) loans, 102.5 billion yen (US$882 million) grants, and 90.8 billion yen (US$782 million) technical cooperation. Japan has been a major financier in Key infrastructure projects in Kenya. These include the upgrading of the Mombasa Port, Olkaria Geothermal Plant, Sondu/Miriu Hydropower Plant, and Nairobi Western Ring Road.
Kenya-Canada Conversation
During the phone conversation between Prime Minister Trudeau and President Kenyatta, Kenyatta lauded the enhanced bilateral ties between Kenya and Canada. The two leaders also discussed trade between the two countries as well as peace and security in the Horn of Africa among other matters of importance to Kenya and Canada.
Health
President Uhuru and PM Trudeau also exchanged views on the strong measures taken by Canada and Kenya to mitigate the effects of the virus and to safeguard people in their respective countries. They agreed on the need of having coordinated international action to change the trajectory of the disease and Mr, Trudeau offered Canada’s support through international assistance to help vulnerable countries respond to its devastating impacts.
Kenya-Canada bilateral ties
Kenya and Canada established diplomatic ties in 1964. Canada’s largest Mission in Africa is found in Nairobi, and Kenya is represented in Canada by the High Commission in Ottawa. The two nation’s relationship is built on a range of shared interests including poverty reduction, sustainable economic growth, the empowerment of women and girls, supporting refugees, and regional security and stability.
Trade values
In 2018, the trade relationship between Canada and Kenya totaled US$174.5 million. This consisted of $141.4 million in exports to Kenya and $33.1 million imports from Kenya.
Kenya’s main exports to Canada include vegetable products and textile products whereas Canada’s exports to Kenya include: vehicles and equipment, vegetable products, and textile products.
Support
Between 2017-2018, Canada provided $83.84 million in international assistance to Kenya. Canada’s international assistance is well aligned with Kenya’s overarching Vision 2030 strategy, and our support is helping Kenyans by increasing employment and economic opportunities, especially for women, improving actress to quality health care for women and children, providing a safe, quality learning environment, and skills building, and technical and vocational training. Canada’s support for Kenya includes humanitarian assistance, regional programming, and Canadian civil society initiatives. The humanitarian assistance is directed to refugees from neighboring countries as well as Kenyan communities impacted by cyclical drought and flooding.
