Kenyan Minister of Trade and Industry Moses Kiarie and an accompanying delegation of Kenyan institutions and companies have met with representatives of the Saudi business sector at the headquarters of the Federation of Saudi Chambers.
During the meeting, the minister proposed a 23-point plan to strengthen and advance Kenya's economic ties with Saudi Arabia, including the creation of a joint business council, an e-commerce platform, and an economic cooperation committee.
He also called for encouraging Saudi businesses to invest in Kenya’s infrastructure and energy projects and private economic zones.
The minister stressed the importance of establishing a joint Saudi-Kenyan committee for trade and investment cooperation, calling on Saudi companies to invest in electricity, water, roads, housing, telecommunications, mining, financial center, hotels, airports, livestock production sectors, among other projects.
Chairman of Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry Ajlan Al Ajlan, for his part, affirmed the Saudi business sector’s preparedness to push commercial and investment cooperation between Kenya and the Kingdom.
The volume of trade exchange between the two countries amounted to about 5.7 billion riyals in 2021, which constitutes an increase of 73 %, revealed Al Ajlan.
He added that there is an opportunity to expand the scope of economic cooperation on targeted and promising sectors.
In other news, the Saudi Chambers’ Standards, Metrology and Quality Committee urged enhancing integration and cooperation in related fields within the framework of supporting the aspirations of the Kingdom’s national transformation plan, Vision 2030.
It also called for enhancing local content in various sectors in the Kingdom, through the localization of the production of goods and services to raise quality and competitiveness.