formalized in December 1963 has covered a critical milestone, unleashing fruitful results for both sides, a senior Kenyan official has said.
Musalia Mudavadi, Kenya’s prime cabinet secretary who also doubles up as minister for foreign and diaspora affairs, noted that six decades of Kenya-China cooperation has impacted positively on the East African nation in diverse spheres, including trade, infrastructure development, cultural and academic exchanges.
“We are celebrating 60 years of our independence and that is a period we have enjoyed cordial relations with the people of China,” Mudavadi said during a recent interview with Chinese media organizations in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
Kenya’s engagement with China has been at the heads of state level, Mudavadi said, adding that President William Ruto and two of his predecessors took deliberate steps to foster ties with Beijing.Under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Kenya has benefitted from the construction of modern infrastructure projects like the Thika Superhighway, the 472-km Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), the 27.1-km Nairobi Expressway and several ring roads in the capital, Mudavadi said.
President Ruto was among African leaders who attended the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing from Oct. 17-18. He met Chinese President Xi Jinping and the two leaders agreed to further cooperation on digital economy and clean energy, Mudavadi said.
Mudavadi noted that under the comprehensive strategic cooperative framework with China, Kenya has been inspired by the Asian nation’s pragmatism in its execution of infrastructure projects overseas.
Kenya has also benefited from an influx of Chinese investors, he said, citing the Nairobi Global Trade Center constructed by Avic International in the capital city’s upscale Westlands district as reaffirming the vitality of the two nation’s partnership.“We look forward to having more investors from China coming here and make this their launch pad for investments in the region,” Mudavadi said.
