President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday witnessed the signing of a detailed private sector agreement between Kenya and the United States of America that seeks to expand trade and investments.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in New York, Uhuru said the pact is part of the efforts to support the growth of Kenyan SME sector as a key enabler of wealth and employment creation.
He said the Kenyan and US economies are largely driven by SMEs and the agreement will help accelerate Kenya's economic recovery efforts from the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I have always had the opportunity to say that Kenya is a country where people always wonder where the resilience of our economy comes from. A country where despite a myriad of shocks, occasioned over the years, always prove to be very resilient,” he said.
“That resilience comes from our small and medium enterprises. It comes from what you refer to as the informal sector, what many in Kenya refer to as the Jua Kali.”
The agreement was signed between the Kenya Private Sector Alliance and Corporate Council on Africa.
It provides a framework for Kenyan and American businesses, especially the small and medium enterprises to partner through information sharing, training, logistics and financing.
The Head of State assured of his administration's commitment to support the implementation of the trade pact saying its success is the success of Kenyans, the Government and the country at large.
He also called on the American Government to be a reliable and predictable trading partner for the initiative to succeed.
“There is a need to understand that if we really want to establish a base to be respected and to be known as a reliable partner, you cannot stop and start every five years. People don’t know about Democrats and Republicans, they know and understand the United States of America,” Uhuru said.
