STATEMENT ON HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT UHURU KENYATTAS VISIT

TO WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES FOR THE US-AFRICA SUMMIT

You are all aware that the President spent the last ten days away, frst on a visit
to the United States, framed around the US-Africa Leaders Summit, and then,
briey, a special !"A# summit on South Sudan$ %he US-Africa Leaders Summit
was a milestone & a belated reco'nition of the wei'ht of Africa in 'lobal a(airs$

%his briefn' will focus on the visit to the US, which be'an in )ashin'ton and
ended in #allas$

)e are often as*ed what the President has brou'ht home from his travels
abroad$ %his time is no di(erent$ +owever, we must stress an even more
important fact, this trip was about our bein' heard as a continent, and as a
country- and about the US listenin' to our leaders, and actin' on the basis of
what it heard$

)hile we emphasise what is most important, we will mention that the tour was
also about promotin' our business-to-business en'a'ement$ President
.enyattas "overnment reco'nises how important it is to ease the wor* of the
private sector, unleashin' its ener'y and enterprise for national development$
)e *now, as well as you do, that the private sector is the en'ine of our
countrys 'rowth, and we will do all we can to encoura'e it$

%he President also promoted and defended some *ey ideas, for which .enya
stands, principally the importance of partnership and the opportunity that
comes with a fresh loo* at .enya and Africa$ )ith the American 'overnment,
and private sector, we will en'a'e on the basis of mutual respect in
partnerships that serve all parties$ !n meetin's with 'overnments, the private
sector and the media, the President accompanied his defence of Africa, and
.enyas, potential with a fran* and open analysis of our common challen'e$

!n )ashin'ton and #allas, the President met American businesspeople,
'overnment o/cials, scholars, and .enyans in the diaspora & in their
thousands$ Policyma*ers and businesspeople had the opportunity to hear the
President spea* freely$ %hey came away convinced that the portrait of .enya
occasionally painted by some others, is radically mista*en$

)e repeat that the initiative did not focus solely on .enya$ )ith Presidents
0useveni, .a'ame and .i*wete, and in reco'nition of his role as the head of
the 1A2, President .enyatta 3oined the e(ort to inform and encoura'e business
leaders to invest and share e4pertise with the re'ion as a whole$ !ntense
interest was 'enerated, and we e4pect that this will hasten implementation of
our re'ional initiatives as well$

Lets now discuss some details$

!n 5 days, the President met 5 American Presidents & 6arac* 7bama, and his
predecessors, "eor'e ) 6ush and 6ill 2linton$

All three have shown their commitment to Africa$ 6arac* 7bamas father was
born here, and the President has presided over one of the most ambitious
infrastructure pro'rams ever attempted in Africa$ 0any of you will also recall
President 6ushs P1P8A9 :Presidents 1mer'ency Plan for A!#S 9elief;, the
pro'ramme which may have saved a million lives, and which has done much to
turn the tide a'ainst +!<=A!#S in Africa$ !n A"7A, President 2linton left behind a
substantial le'acy of opportunity and trade between Africa and the US$ !t is to
that pro'ram that we turn frst$


(1) AGOA

)e in .enya have often underestimated and under-utilised the opportunities
available under this pro'ramme$ %hat must, and will, chan'e- and we have
already be'un to deepen our en'a'ement with the pro'ramme$

2abinet Secretary Adan 0ohammed and 2abinet Secretary Amb$ Amina
0ohammed were part of the Africa ministerial team that led ne'otiations for
the e4tension of A"7A, and advocated a >?-year e4tension to promote
investment in te4tiles for the lon' term$ %his fts the @ubilee 'overnments
identifcation of the te4tile sector as a priority for the current fnancial year$
President 6arac* 7bama was optimistic that 2on'ress would approve the
arran'ements discussed$

%he 2abinet Secretary also met senior representatives of both Philips <an
+eusen :the second lar'est apparel importers in the US; and @ones Apparel$
%hey 'ave an indicative value of potential investment in the 1ast African re'ion
of USA > billion$ )e are happy to encoura'e them, since it is clear that this sort
of new investment, especially in te4tiles, leather and a'ro-processin'
translates directly into wealth and 3obs for .enyans$

%he 'lobal players, "AP and )al-0art, also pled'ed to follow throu'h on
proposed supply-chain investments in .enya$ !n the near term, this means that
we e4pect increased orders for apparel from .enyan manufacturers in comin'
months, with *noc*-on e(ects for 3obs$

%he 2abinet Secretary also or'anised over BC top US companies that met with
President .enyatta so as to e4plore business opportunities in our re'ion$ !t was
evident that the US investors are better informed and as a result some
investors such as +oneywall have committed to openin' re'ional o/ces in
.enya

(2) SECURITY

As you *now, .enya is en'a'ed in unprecedented reform of its security
infrastructure$ 8ollowin' the summit, we are one of si4 countries that will 3oin
President 7bamas Security "overnance !nitiative$ %he pro'ram, worth USADB
million annually for 5 to ? years, will stren'then our ties with the US in the
provision of security$

Under its terms, the US and .enya will conduct a 3oint assessment of the
security threats and opportunities- before developin' a strate'ic plan to 'uide
investments in the area- and then applyin' US technical e4pertise and other
resources to advance the plan$ !t was notable, in this connection, that President
7bama very publicly committed US support to the continuin' f'ht a'ainst
terror, and to the re'ions stability$

%o this end, +enry 9otich, the %reasury 2abinet Secretary, representin' our
'overnment, si'ned a 2ustoms 0utual Assistance A'reement with the US
'overnment$ %he a'reement is especially timely 'iven the challen'es .enya
faces in mana'in' its border$ !llicit trade :in wildlife products, amon' others;,
ille'al immi'ration, and revenue evasion still pose serious ris*s to our
economy, cohesion and security$

%he a'reement allows .enya to beneft from this e4pertise by providin' a
framewor* for information sharin' and cooperation between the two countries
customs administrations as they f'ht transnational crime, customs o(ences,
and terrorism$ !n brief, it ma*es it easier for both countries to defend their
borders$

!t also 'ives both 2ustoms administrations :.enya and US; the le'al framewor*
for the e4chan'e of information to assist in the prevention, detection, and
investi'ation of 2ustoms o(enses and crimes associated with 'oods crossin'
international borders, includin' duty evasion, tra/c*in', proliferation, money
launderin', and terrorism-related activities$

8inally, it serves as a foundation for deeper en'a'ement between the two
2ustoms administration for many years to come$

Additionally, there is 'eneral consensus that we need ur'ently to develop
specialised s*ills in the security sector$ %o this end, the 'overnment has
received support from companies such as !60 who have committed to
developin' and enhancin' the !% s*ills of our security sector so that these
forces can *eep up-to-date with current threats that include cyber security and
conseEuently combat these ris*s$ %his will include trainin' for the new recruits
and the .enya Police %rainin' 2olle'e in .i'an3o

)e now turn to ener'y$

(3) ENERGY
As you will appreciate, 2abinet Secretary #avis 2hirchir was very busy
throu'hout this visit, 'iven that ener'y is a priority for both the United States
and Africa$ 0any of you will also have heard of the substantial sums that have
been arran'ed for the Power Africa initiative$

%he US raised its 'uarantees for pro3ects in si4 countries, includin' .enya, from
the USA F billion previously announced to USAGD billion$ !n addition, both the
)orld 6an* and Standard 2hartered 6an* announced that they were chippin'
in with fundin' of USA? billion each$ Sweden contributed USA > billion to the
e(ort$

.enya will be able to tap this fund, but it needs to be said that we already have
our own ambitious plans and arran'ements in the sector, which also won
support$

>$ %he 'overnment has already laid plans to 'enerate ?,CCC 0w of power in
the near future$ !n +ouston, players in the power sector, amon' them 6echtel,
6a*er and +u'hes, and 8luor, committed themselves to ta*in' up
opportunities, in an e(ort to hasten the ?,CCC 0w pro'ramme$ %he 'eothermal,
solar and wind power pro3ects attracted particular interest$

G$ 2apacity 6uildin', !n support of .enyas present pro'rammes, the US
department of 1ner'y a'reed to partner with the 0inistry of 1ner'y$
#iscussions are in pro'ress, and we aim to secure technolo'ical transfer,
overseas trainin' and capacity buildin' and partnership with investors and
contactors to ensure ma3ority local ownership$

5$ Hatural "as Power "eneration, !n li'ht of the recently discovered natural
'as in 6loc* I - Sala, by Africa 7il, a partnership between "eneral 1lectric,
Africa 7il and Juantum Power has been established, followin' contact at the
main summit$ !ts aim is to convert the natural 'as, currently under appraisal, to
power on the 'rid$ %he technical teams representin' the mentioned companies
are scheduled to be'in the pro3ect process once appraisal is complete$

B$ "eothermal Pro3ect 8inancin', %he 2abinet Secretary in the 0inistry of
1ner'y, representatives of the US 1K!0 ban*, and of the "eothermal
#evelopment 2ompany 2hairman met$ !t was a'reed that the "2# and US
14im ban* technical representatives would meet to fnaliLe the fnancin'
details for the fnancin' of the 6arin'o&Silali GCC 0w pro3ect, e4pected to cost
USA 5CC million$ )e e4pect the pro3ect to be ready for ta*eo( by the Bth
Euarter of GC>B$

?$ !nvestment in the power, oil M 'as sector, #iscussions with *ey power, oil
and 'as investors in the US, facilitated by "eneral 1lectric, were held re'ardin'
the perceived ris* that many US investors see in investin' in 1ast Africa$ "iven
feedbac* from US companies with e4perience of proftable investment in .enya
& "eneral 1lectric, Juantum Power, Anarda*o and Symbion Power amon' them
& most of the companies represented in the forum decided to venture into
.enya$
)e now turn to our discussions with the )orld 6an*$

(!) WORLD "ANK

%he purpose of the meetin' & attended by the 2abinet Secretary for the
%reasury, +enry 9otich, and the president of the )orld 6an* & was to
stren'then our partnership$ %he 6an* recently approved a new strate'y
coverin' the period GC>B-GC>N, under which it committed about USA B billion
to critical areas ali'ned to .enyas development a'enda and the @ubilee
manifesto$

A number of a'reements were reached, principal amon' which are a'reements
touchin' on,

>$ #evolution, the )orld 6an* would reali'n its support to ensure a coherent
and better-coordinated implementation of devolution in .enya$

G$ Youth empowerment pro'rams, %he )orld 6an* will e4plore how best to
e4pand its support for .enyas empowerment pro'rams, amon' them the
UweLo, Youth, and )omens funds$

5$ +ousin', the 'overnment is investin' in low cost housin' to address the
housin' challen'e in our cities$ %he )orld 6an* will share its e4perience and
*nowled'e of 'lobal best practice with 'overnment$
Let me close with a brief mention of some development in +ealth$

(#) HEALTH

After recent discussions on the development of a di'ital platform for .enyas
Public +ealth Services, 0icrosoft was identifed as a potential partner$ )e can
now announce that the pro3ect will be implemented as planned, it will be a 3oint
venture between the 0inistry of +ealth, 0icrosoft, and a local provider,
0icroclinic %echnolo'ies, under the brand name Oidi$

0icrosoft will send a team of technical e4perts to .enya over the ne4t two
wee*s to be'in mappin' out this critical venture$ )e e4pect that the total cost
of the pro3ect will reach .1S >N billion :appro4imately USAGCC million;$

($) CONCLUSION

Additionally, the President is 'rateful to Ambassador Amina 0ohammed, the
2abinet Secretary for 8orei'n A(airs and !nternational %rade and her team for
the e4cellent arran'ements they made for this visit$

%his selection of the hi'hli'hts from our recent trip is all we have time for
today$ )e will follow up these pro3ects, and others, in the days and wee*s to
come$ 6ut what we have here is enou'h to show that the trip advanced the
cause of .enya and Africa$

%han* you$
0AH7A+ 1S!P!SU,
S%A%1 +7US1 SP7.1SP19S7H

>Bth Au'ust, GC>B