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Kenya should deepen cooperation with China

Kenya should pursue diplomacy that advances its own interests and should avoid superpower wars

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by FELIX OLICK

Opinion16 October 2023 - 01:00
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In Summary


  • It's commendable that President Ruto has chosen to attend the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forum in Beijing.
  • Ruto's visit will energise Kenya-China diplomatic relations and reassure Chinese investors.
Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party Of China Central Committee and Director of the Office of Central Committee for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi President meets with President William Ruto and other delegates at State House on July 22, 2023.

President William Ruto is in Beijing on his first official visit to China since he assumed office last year.

Kenya-China partnership has delivered enviable development outcomes under the administrations of Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta.

The story of Kenya's enviable infrastructural development and economic expansion over the last two decades cannot be told without a mention of Beijing.

Kenya should therefore rise above the vicious wars of superpowers and adopt a diplomatic posture that is rational and aligned to its own interest.

It is therefore commendable that President Ruto has chosen to attend the Belt and Road Initiative forum in Beijing. Ruto's visit will energise Kenya-China diplomatic relations and reassure Chinese investors.

The BRI forum where Ruto will engage with host, President Xi Jinping could unlock China’s further support for key infrastructural projects, including the final stretch of the SGR project to Malaba through Kisumu. This would be a game-changer.

Apart from delivering hundreds of kilometres of road network in Kenya, including the Nairobi Expressway and Thika Road, Chinese partnership with Kenya has also delivered the Lamu deep sea port, airport modernisation, several telecommunication projects and housing units.

However, any loans advanced by China must be used prudently and Kenyan bureaucrats must ensure the cost of projects are not inflated. 

Quote of the Day: “Go right straight down the road, to do what is best, and to do it frankly and without evasion.”

George Marshall

The US general and US Secretary of State who authored the Marshall Plan (Nobel 1953) died om October 16, 1959

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