Kenya, US agree to firm up bilateral trade
Kenya and US trade representatives are set to draft a list of areas for trade and economic cooperation before August.
Trade Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai met on Monday and agreed to explore pathways towards a deeper bilateral trade and economic relationship.
The talks shall center on promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth; benefits workers, consumers, and businesses (including MSMEs).
Further, the negotiations would seek to support African regional economic integration and could yield a potential trade pact.
Read also: How M-PESA is defining the future of business payments
“We continued to explore ways we can deepen our economic relationship and talked about developing an ambitious roadmap. We’ll meet again in the coming weeks to lay out the next steps,” Ambassador Tai tweeted.
The two, who met during the ongoing World Trade Organisation ministerial conference in Geneva, discussed a number of issues where the US and Kenya could develop an ambitious roadmap for enhanced cooperation and, where appropriate, explore negotiating high-standard commitments.
Some of the issues discussed include trade facilitation and customs, standards, services digital trade, environment and climate change, and agriculture.
In the days and weeks ahead, the two countries will work to finalize a list of areas for cooperation to deepen economic engagement, and the two ministers agreed to meet again in the coming weeks to announce the next steps.
