Kenyan President To Visit Qatar Monday

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta leaves Nairobi Monday for Qatar on a three-day state visit for talks with top Qatari officials on promoting bilateral relations and cooperation.



"President Kenyatta's visit will further deepen a relationship that has grown from strength to strength over the years," his spokesman Manoa Esipisu said in a statement released on Sunday.



"These good and robust relations date as far back as the 15th century when Arab traders were regular visitors to the East African coast for business and trade," he added.



President Kenyatta will hold talks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and senior government officials on various avenues of bilateral ties, the statement said.



He will also hold talks with Qatari Energy Minister Mohamed Saleh Al-Sada on how the two governments can promote cooperation in the fields of energy projects.



Part of that strategy involves attracting the private sector – including Qatari investors – to invest in energy projects.



Qatar possesses demonstrated expertise in energy production.



Esipisu said the Kenya government has developed a medium-term strategy for the production of over 5000 MW of electricity by 2016 to help ensure that every Kenyan has access to affordable energy.



"The president will encourage Qatar's interest in Kenya's booming energy sector, while seeking to benefit from the sharing of expertise and capital between the two countries," said the statement.



Kenyatta  – who will be accompanied by his wife Margaret - will tour the current port and the new port in the capital Doha, which is under construction.



"Qatar's ports authority is among the world's most effective managers of maritime installations," Esipisu said.



He added that Kenya will seek to benefit from Qatar's expertise in the development, management and modernization of Lamu and Mombasa ports at the Kenyan coastal region on the Indian Ocean.



Kenyatta's visit to Qatar comes five months after a visit to Kuwait, another Gulf Cooperation Council member.



The Kenyan leader had joined more than sixty other leaders from Africa and the Arab world who attended the third Arab-Africa economic summit in Kuwait.



By James Shimanyula



englishnews@aa.com.tr - Nayrobi