President Uhuru Kenyatta travelled to South Africa on Thursday morning for talks on
trade, security and infrastructure development with Jacob Zuma.
Deputy President William Ruto and other government officials saw the president off at the JKIA in Nairobi.
The presidents will review progress in the implementation of signed agreements during their afternoon discussions. They will also explore new areas of partnership with the goal of deepening ties.
Uhuru's official visit to South Africa will also focus on enhancing cooperation in training.
Kenya and South Africa have concluded more than 16 instruments of cooperation, agreements, MoUs and letters of intent on training.
The University of Pretoria and the Kenya Wildlife Service entered into a MOU on
October 16, 2013. The MOU provides for capacity building for KWS staff in the Rhinoceros DNA Index system.
The system involves DNA profiling, collection, classification and storage of information relating to population of rhinos, a project based at the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory of the University of Pretoria.
The nations also cooperate in scientific exchange, agriculture, public health, law, education and military training.
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On trade,
Uhuru and Zuma will discuss bridging the balance of trade which is currently highly in favour of South Africa.
They will also talk about
increasing consultation on global issues through more contact.
On Friday, the president
will meet Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who succeeded Zuma last month as leader of the ruling African National Congress.
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He will also meet the Johannesburg
business community and
Thomas Schaefer,
the Chief Executive Officer of Volkswagen South Africa which
set up an assembling plant in Kenya in
December 2016.
On
Saturday, Uhuru
will attend celebrations
to mark the 106th
anniversary of the ANC.
In
October 2016, Zuma made a historic state visit to Kenya during which six agreements and a Memorandum of Understanding were signed.
The agreements were on visa exemption for passport holders of diplomatic, ordinary and service passports and defence and police cooperation.
They also concerned cooperation by the Kenya Investment Authority, Export Promotion Council and the Trade-Invest of South Africa, cooperation in the field of biodiversity, conservation and management and Lapsset projects.
During Zuma’s visit, the leaders directed that negotiations on the establishment of a bi-national commission be expedited to bolster trade relations.
On Immigration, the two countries resolved issues including visa requirements for Kenyans travelling to South Africa.
South Africa agreed to issue visas on arrival for official delegations and one-off visas for Kenyans to study there.