Kenya’s Trade Minister: Nairobi to Witness Qualitative Cooperation with Saudi Arabia

Kenya’s Minister of Trade and Industry Moses Kuria (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Kenya’s Minister of Trade and Industry Moses Kuria (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Kenya’s Trade Minister: Nairobi to Witness Qualitative Cooperation with Saudi Arabia

Kenya’s Minister of Trade and Industry Moses Kuria (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Kenya’s Minister of Trade and Industry Moses Kuria (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Kenya’s Minister of Trade and Industry Moses Kuria said that Africa, and his country in particular, would not allow its resources to be exploited in the US-Chinese trade war.

He noted that Kenya looked forward to strengthening economic ties with Saudi Arabia by reviving axes of cooperation.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Kuria said that his recent visit to the Kingdom saw the signing of two agreements to increase bilateral trade and investments, which included the establishment of a joint business council and an e-commerce platform.

“In my discussions with the Saudis, I found vital ways to better bridge cooperation between the two countries, and we agreed to increase trade exchange, which amounts to $1.5 billion,” he underlined.

The Kenyan official pointed to his fruitful meetings with Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi, Minister of Commerce, Engineer Khaled Al-Falih, Minister of Investment, and Yasser Al-Rumayyan, CEO of the Public Investment Fund, as well as the heads of huge companies, such as Aramco, SABIC, Maaden and Aqua Power.

“Two agreements were signed to stimulate trade and launch commercial zones between a number of regions of the Kingdom in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam,” the minister revealed, adding that the agreements also sought to attract Saudi investments in Africa and launch cooperation in banking.

He expected his country to market Saudi products, such as petrochemicals and fertilizers, not only to Kenya, but also to promising African markets with a population of about 1.3 billion.

The logistics services center in Mombasa is one of the most important achievements of the Saudi-Kenyan agreements, Kuria emphasized, adding: “We are about to discover great opportunities and new areas for qualitative cooperation between the two countries.”

Expanding economic cooperation

The Kenyan Minister of Trade and Industry met with the Saudi business sector at the headquarters of the Federation of Saudi Chambers, where he discussed series of proposals to strengthen and develop his country’s economic ties with the Kingdom.

Those include the establishment of a joint business council, an e-commerce platform, an economic cooperation committee, and incentives for Saudi companies to invest in special economic zones, infrastructure and energy projects in Kenya.

Kuria stressed the importance of establishing a joint Saudi-Kenyan committee for trade and investment cooperation, calling on Saudi companies to invest in electricity, water, roads, housing, communications, mining, financial center, hotels, airports, animal production projects, and others.

Stimulating development opportunities

The Kenyan minister told Asharq Al-Awsat that he discussed with the Executive Director of the Operations Sector of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), Eng. Faisal Al-Qahtani, the Kingdom’s efforts to support development projects and programs in his country, with the aim of achieving sustainable development goals.

Saudi Arabia has provided, through the SFD, 13 projects and development programs in the transportation, communications, energy, agriculture, health and water sectors since 1978, through soft development loans with a total value exceeding $163 million, in addition to a grant provided by Riyadh to Nairobi through the Fund.

Kuria said he reviewed with the Federation of Saudi Chambers ways to develop systems and legislation, closely identify the needs of the private sector, and work to enhance the confidence of merchants and consumer protection.

He emphasized the most important challenges facing the private sector with regard to the implementation of technical regulations and standards and obtaining a certificate of conformity and a quality mark.

The US-Chinese trade war

Commenting on the US-Chinese race to acquire investment shares in African economic resources, Kuria stressed that African countries, including Kenya, have economic and investment relations with both Washington and Beijing, as is the case with other states in the world.

The minister said he believed that Washington’s prioritization of Africa in its policies, as seen in the recent American-African summit, was built on the huge natural and human potential available in the African Continent.

Similarly, Kuria noted that China found important economic and investment opportunities in African countries, expecting many Chinese companies to enter African markets with the aim to increase investments in the continent.

“There are no limits to African cooperation with China and America,” he said.

He continued: “Africa’s interest requires dealing with everyone without subjecting its will to one party at the expense of another.”

He stressed that the common objective was the exchange of interests and expertise, and benefiting from the capabilities available to all sides.

Kuria said that the world should deal with African countries according to the developments of the stage, as the continent is no longer just a bloc occupied by crises and diseases.

The world has finally discovered that Africa is very rich economically and enjoys great, diversified and vital investment opportunities thanks to its vast fertile lands and abundant water suitable for the largest agricultural and food production in the world, he underlined.



Egypt Makes Progress in its Nuclear Energy Project

Construction work at the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant. (Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority)
Construction work at the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant. (Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority)
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Egypt Makes Progress in its Nuclear Energy Project

Construction work at the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant. (Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority)
Construction work at the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant. (Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority)

Egypt has reported significant progress in the construction of the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant in the country’s northwest, a project being developed in cooperation with Russia. The government announced on Tuesday that more than 20% of the project has been completed.

Egypt and Russia signed a cooperation agreement on November 19, 2015, to establish the nuclear power station at a cost of $25 billion, funded through a Russian government loan. The final agreements for El-Dabaa were signed in December 2017.

The plant will consist of four nuclear reactors with a total generation capacity of 4,800 megawatts, each producing 1,200 megawatts. The first reactor is scheduled to begin operations in 2028, with the remaining units coming online gradually as part of Egypt’s energy mix.

In its quarterly performance report, the Egyptian government stated that the project aligns with efforts to expand the peaceful use of nuclear energy within the national power grid.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi emphasized in November the importance of executing energy projects efficiently and on schedule, calling them a pillar of Egypt’s development strategy. He underscored the need to adhere to the project timeline while ensuring the highest standards of execution and workforce training.

Also in November, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to the project, stating that El-Dabaa would enhance renewable energy capacity and stabilize the national power grid.

In early March, Russia’s Atomstroyexport announced that construction on the second reactor at El-Dabaa had progressed ahead of schedule. According to the Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority, the second tier of the inner containment structure had been installed at the reactor building.

Egypt experienced widespread power outages last summer, which ended in late July after securing sufficient fuel supplies for its power plants.

The El-Dabaa project is part of Egypt’s strategy to diversify its energy sources, generate electricity to meet domestic demand, and reduce reliance on imported gas and other fuels.

On Tuesday, the government also announced an additional 200 megawatts of private-sector solar power capacity as part of its efforts to expand renewable energy. Officials said the move would support energy diversification and advance the country’s sustainable development strategy.