President Uhuru Kenyatta has expressed concerns by the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) over increasing unilateral decisions by the European Union targeting the multilateral institution's member states.
Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday, Uhuru, who is the President-in-Office of the Summit of the 79-member institution since 2019, said that the EU doesn't engage the OACPS before making some of its decisions, which is contrary to the provisions of the Cotonou agreement.
"The unilateral application of measures, including sanctions, by the EU, as imposed on Eritrea and Burundi, has created sensitivities and concerns within our Group," Uhuru noted.
The Cotonou agreement spells out the scope of the Groups’ engagement with the EU to include conflict prevention and good governance under political dialogue.
Uhuru said that he unsuccessfully raised, with the EU leadership the issue of blacklisting of OACPS countries on grounds of deficiencies in anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism, but the union went ahead and adopted the list.
The Head of State is on a two-day Official Visit of Belgium and the European Union.
Uhuru also updated the committee measures OACPS was taking in the fight against Covid-19 saying that there is a need to call for a Heads of State and Government summit to discuss post-pandemic recovery strategies.
He called on OACPS nations to join the Global Partnership for Education, an initiative through which Kenya and the United Kingdom seeks to raise USD5 billion to support an estimated 1.3 billion children whose education was interrupted by Covid-19.
On Tuesday morning, the President participated in a business forum convened by the Belgian Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture where he addressed investor concerns and the reforms being undertaken by the Government to improve Kenya's business climate.
Uhuru was joined by a Kenyan business delegation that included Chairman of the East African Business Council Nicholas Nesbitt, Chairperson of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance Flora Mutahi and President of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Richard Ngatia.
During the visit, the President was accompanied by Cabinet Secretaries Raychelle Omamo (Foreign Affairs), Adan Mohammed (EAC) and Betty Maina (Trade), and National Assembly Deputy Speaker Moses Cheboi.
