High Commissioner of Kenya Prof Julius Kibet Bitok said there are a lot of opportunities for Pakistani investors in Kenya which must be availed as the Kenyan government is ready to support them for establishing their businesses. The High Commissioner was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Friday. He said Pakistan and Kenya have good diplomatic ties and maintain steady trade relations.
He said the government of Kenya, in collaboration with the United Nations, is planning to organize a conference on "Sustainable Blue Economy" during next month. This conference will cover the areas of banking system, fisheries, marines, technology and various others.
He urged the LCCI members to participate in the conference and avail the opportunity to have close interaction with their counterparts. "Pakistan and Kenya have same currency value," he said, and added that Kenya has a stable banking system now. There is no issue of banking channel between the two countries as Pakistani banks are operational in Nairobi. He said Kenya is also working on digital banking and encouraging its businessmen to use online banking for their transactions.
He said that recently-commenced direct flight from Karachi to Nairobi would help ease transportation besides improving trade activities between the two countries. He appreciated the LCCI role in strengthening the trade and economic ties between both the countries.
LCCI Acting President Khawaja Shehzad Nasir said that Pakistan has been one of the top 10 trading partners of Kenya and consider it as a gateway to whole Africa. The bilateral trade is following increasing trend. From 2016 to 2017, the value of two-way trade has gone up from US $669 million to $787 million, he added.
Pakistan is facing unfavourable balance of trade with Kenya and thus it is interested in enhancing Pakistan's exports to trim down the trade deficit, he said. Pakistan mainly exports rice to Kenya and primarily imports coffee and tea from Kenya, he added, and stressed the need for identifying more tradable items. Pakistan can export wide range of textiles items, pharmaceutical products, articles of plastic and chemicals to Kenya, he said.
LCCI Vice President Fahim-ur-Rehman Sehgal also spoke on the occasion and suggested regular exchange of sector-specific delegations between the two countries that could help discover new opportunities of economic cooperation.
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