The Prime Minister will welcome Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta
to Chequers this afternoon, ahead of the two leaders hosting the
Global Education Summit in London tomorrow.
They are expected to plant a tree at the Prime Minister’s
official country residence, to mark our ambition to grow the
long-standing partnership between the UK and Kenya and tackle
climate change together ahead of COP26. The Prime Minister and
President will hold talks on issues including trade, defence,
development, and the global fight against Covid-19.
The UK will offer 817,000 vaccine doses to Kenya to support
efforts to combat the pandemic, with the first 400,000 doses
going this week. This is part of a delivery of 9 million
Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines to COVAX and directly to individual
countries due to be announced by the Foreign Secretary today, the
first tranche of the UK’s commitment to share 100 million vaccine
doses internationally by next June.
The UK and Kenya are also working together to boost investment
and business links between our two countries. The trading
relationship is already worth around £1.4 billion a year, with 40
per cent of all tea consumed in the UK coming from Kenya.
President Kenyatta launched the Nairobi International Finance
Centre at an event at Mansion House in conjunction with the City
of London yesterday [Tuesday], and UK insurance firm Prudential
announced they would be the first company to sign up to the
Centre and establish their Africa HQ in Kenya.
There were a number of major new investments announced in
clean tech, reflecting the UK and Kenya’s commitment to cooperate
on accelerating the shift to renewable energy and sustainable
infrastructure.
Among others, a new £58 million fund, anchored by £35
million of UK Government investment, was launched to finance the
construction of 10,000 green affordable homes in Kenya, and a
£3.3 million investment was announced from UK-backed InfraCo
Africa to finance the expansion of off-grid solar energy in
Western Kenya.
Speaking ahead of today’s meeting, Prime Minister
said:
“The UK and Kenya share a long and rich history, but this is a
relationship that is focused on the future.
“As friends and allies, we are sharing UK vaccine doses to
support Kenya’s fight against the pandemic. From boosting
economic growth to addressing climate change and getting girls
into school, the UK and Kenya are working hand-in-hand to deliver
a more secure and prosperous world.
“I look forward to welcoming President Kenyatta today to drive
that agenda forward, and to joining forces tomorrow to raise
vital funds at the Global Education Summit in London.”
The UK and Kenya will co-host the Global Education Summit on
Thursday to raise $5 billion over the next five years for the
work of the Global Partnership for Education to get 175 million
vulnerable children into learning. World leaders, businesses,
charities, education experts and youth ambassadors are expected
to attend the event in London.
Notes to Editors:
- Trade between Kenya and the UK is worth around £1.4 billion a
year. Forty percent of UK tea imports come from Kenya and we
import about 30,000 tonnes of vegetables from Kenya every year.
- The top 5 goods exported from the UK to Kenya are cars, other
road vehicles, medicinal & pharmaceutical products, telecoms
& sound equipment and paper & paperboard.
-
During the Guest of Government visit, President Kenyatta
has:
- Attended an event at Kew Gardens to mark the Kenya-UK
Year of Climate Action
- Launched the Nairobi International Financial Centre with
Foreign Secretary
- Met with His Royal Highness Prince Charles
- Bolstered the UK-Kenya security partnership, with Defence
Secretary signing a five year Defence Cooperation Agreement
with his Kenyan counterpart.
-
President Kenyatta will also meet with Health Secretary
tomorrow.
