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| The current EPA in Kenya covers trade in goods and development cooperation |
NAIROBI, Feb 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Kenya has unveiled the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) Council in an effort to facilitate trade with the UK.
The current EPA covers trade in goods and development cooperation.
Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Industrialisation, Trade, and Enterprise Development Johnson Weru said the council and a committee of senior officials will seek to expand trade between the two partners to include trade in services and will also address competition policy and intellectual property rights.
“We want to see our doctors, lawyers, engineers, and others provide services under the agreement,” said Weru.
Council members drawn from various ministries will provide leadership and oversee the operation, implementation, and expansion of the EPA.
British High Commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott welcomed the plan, noting that a deal on financial services was in place. The Nairobi International Financial Centre already has an anchor client, UK-based underwriter Prudential, which has chosen Nairobi as its African headquarters.
She said the EPA could be extended to the East African Community once the region concludes negotiations.
The UK government is also supporting ease of access at the port of Mombasa and across the EAC.
“The UK has invested over Ksh5 billion ($44 million) in the port of Mombasa to help reduce turnaround times from 12 days to three days to make sure that goods get into Kenya quickly and out of Kenya more quickly,” Marriott said. “And this is really important for the UK because a large proportion of UK food and vegetables and flowers come from Kenya.”
The UK, between 2015 and 2020, ranked among Kenya’s top five export destinations. It is also the largest single investor in Kenya, with investments valued at over £3 billion in 2020.
“Since the signing of the EPA a year ago, the balance of trade is in favour of Kenya at the moment,” said Marriott.
Provisional data up to November 2021 indicates that Kenya exported to the UK goods valued at Ksh45.2 billion ($397.7 million) while imports from the UK stood at Ksh30.2 billion ($265.7 million).
There is also significant trade in services between the two countries, which makes total trade total valued at well over £1.65 billion ($2.2 billion) in 2020.
The annual value of exports to the UK was Ksh39 billion ($343.4 million), mainly from flowers, coffee, tea, fruits, vegetables, and textiles. — NNN-AGENCIES
