A little Boy, quite tired out with play, stretched out and fell sound asleep close to the edge of a deep well.
Fortune came by, and gently waking him said, “My dear Boy, believe me, I have saved your life. If you had fallen in, everybody would have laid the blame on me; but tell me truly, now, would the fault have been yours or mine?”
Like the little boy, we are all responsible for our own destinies and over the last couple of month’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has been walking this road with several trips aimed at enhancing the country’s presence across the world.
What we have learnt about Uhuru is that when he meets other world leaders, he talks and they listen. In recent months, he has proven that he is an excellent statesman, adept at using every opportunity to uplift Kenya’s global image and build bonds with foreign leaders that are sure to pay off later.
The ‘Look East’ policy that began at the onset of the Kibaki presidency and has continued in earnest during the Uhuru administration.
This has not only built up the country’s profile but has also increased the number of foreign investments in the country since Uhuru took over in 2013. His charm and focus were not any different at the recent Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama.
Historically, East Africa has been somewhat reliant on Europe, and later North America, for trade and investment. However, with the turmoil in the United States due to its immigration crisis and controversial President, as well as the chaos-in Europe because of Brexit, it is high time we look to the Far East.
Though bilateral agreements between Kenya and China, and Kenya and Japan, have existed for decades, sometimes we take them for granted. The benefits of these relationships are far too many to count, but we can name a few.
Chinese investments have helped us improve our transportation infrastructure and provide us with new medicines to improve our medical care. Without engagement with the Chinese as well as the Japanese, we would not be having better roads as we can experience today.
Japan has also been a great partner in implementing Uhuru’s Big Four agenda. Cooperation between Kenya and Japan grew particularly strong in 2016 when Uhuru hosted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Nairobi for Ticad 6.
During the Yokohama conference, Uhuru and PM Abe meet in private to discuss attainment of the Universal Health Coverage tenet of the Big Four and establishment of a Special Economic Zone in Dongo Kundu, Mombasa.
Uhuru was able to convince his Japanese counterpart to pledge investment in the Likoni Gate Bridge to fast track the Special Economic Zone. This aligns with several of Uhuru’s recent efforts to build Kenya’s maritime economy.
As our main shipping port, infrastructural investments in Mombasa are vital to improving shipping capabilities and forming a sustainable blue economy. This, paired with Big Four manufacturing programmes, will enable Kenyans to manufacture more local goods and send them off to Mombasa to be exported around the globe.
Uhuru also used the opportunity to meet with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to discuss regional peace and security in East Africa. Kenya is at the forefront of this issue and it is vital that Uhuru reflects this every time he speaks to fellow world leaders and UN officials.
He also secured a commitment from PM Pravind Jugnauth of Mauritius to support the 2020 UN bid, and agreed to complete a treaty on double tax avoidance between the two nations by mid-September.
With so many different business sectors thriving in Kenya and foreign direct investment funnelling in from across the globe, Kenya’s development prospects are higher than ever. The President himself proclaimed in Singapore last week when he juxtaposed the rapid expansion of the modern city island state as a role model for Kenya's growth trajectory.
