The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto, have agreed to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries, especially in the economic field, taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the African country and the interest of Spanish companies to continue increasing their presence there.
In a joint appearance without questions at the end of the meeting they held in Nairobi, Sanchez has ironized with the fact that Spain is known mainly in Africa for its soccer teams, «and we are fine with that», but has made it clear that «it is also a potential ally in many areas».
In this sense, he stressed that he has traveled accompanied by an «important delegation» of businessmen who are already present in the country and who are interested in increasing their presence. This is precisely what they told him at the breakfast meeting he held with them early in the morning, together with the Minister of Trade, Reyes Maroto. «Many leading Spanish companies worldwide see Kenya as a country of opportunities and in which to prosper,» he stressed.
To accompany this desire, the Government is committed to accompany companies and for this it will be crucial, has recognized the President, the renewal of the current financial protocol, which «will add new funds to the existing remnants and allow us to modernize our financing instruments, thus facilitating the implementation of projects of priority interest in Kenya by Spanish companies».
The President of the Government has highlighted the fact that Kenya «is one of the most stable and solid democracies in the region» as well as its «enormous economic potential» and the leadership it exercises in East Africa and throughout the continent.
DEEPENING THE RELATIONSHIP «It is an economic, political and logistical center of East Africa and also the largest regional economy», he summarized, hence the «desire of Spain to deepen the framework of bilateral relations» since «there is great potential» and the joint declaration that has been signed with this objective.
In the same line, the Kenyan president has pronounced himself, who has celebrated the interest of Spanish companies in sectors such as tourism or infrastructures and defended that there is «a tremendous space to increase our trade and investment opportunities».
Ruto also highlighted the «enormous resources» available in Kenya and made it clear that his country can serve as a «gateway» for Spain both in East Africa and in the continent as a whole, celebrating Sánchez’s «policy of working with Africa».
In this sense, the Kenyan president has expressed the will of the East African Community (EAC) to move towards a common market and a federation and has considered that they can «learn from the experiences of Spain and the EU». «You have already traveled this road before us», he commented.
SÁNCHEZ’S DOUBLE RECORD The Kenyan president joked that Sánchez has «broken two records» with his visit, being the first Spanish president to travel to this country since diplomatic relations were established and also for being the «fastest» president to visit him since he took office, since until now he had not received any international leader.
Likewise, Ruto has responded affirmatively to the invitation to visit Spain that the President of the Government has sent him, trusting to be able to do it next year and anticipating that his Minister of Foreign Affairs and Kenyan businessmen will also travel.
The Kenyan president has also agreed to join the International Alliance for Resilience against Drought that Spain and Senegal, the country that currently holds the rotating presidency of the African Union, are forming, a gesture that Sánchez thanked, stressing that climate change is one of the shared challenges. «I think we can do a lot together,» he said.
In fact, in the joint declaration signed by both leaders, they recognize that «the climate emergency is the most serious challenge of our time». They also express their «deep concern about the unfolding global food crisis resulting from persistent drought, unpredictable and extremely severe weather patterns, global pandemics and ongoing conflicts, which have negatively affected global supply chains.»
Furthermore, Sanchez and Ruto stressed that «terrorism is one of the main causes of instability and insecurity on a global scale» and expressed «their firm commitment to combat it in all its forms and manifestations».
VISIT TO THE UN OFFICE After his meeting with Ruto, who also offered lunch to the Spanish delegation, Sanchez had the opportunity to visit the UN Office in Nairobi, the only one in the continent, where he met with its director, Zainab Haiwa Bangura. Here, in addition to signing the Golden Book, he fulfilled the tradition of planting a tree in its facilities.
Finally, before heading for South Africa, the second stage of his African tour, the President visited the Kenya Industrial Research Institute for Development, where Spain has promoted and financed a project that promotes the empowerment of women through entrepreneurship.
«Peace, stability and prosperity in Africa will only be possible if African women are incorporated into the equation, hence the importance of promoting this type of project,» said Sánchez, as reported by Moncloa in a statement.
