Last week, the 5th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting (MYCM) was held at the United Nations African headquarters in Gigiri, Nairobi. The Summit witnessed a remarkable gathering of 51 foreign ministers from the African Union (AU) member states, accompanied by 15 heads of states and an

On Monday, 19th June 2023, President William Ruto oversaw the political conclusion of the negotiations for the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Kenya and the European Union (EU). The negotiations were spearheaded by European Commission Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis and Cabinet

The African Business Council has taken a bold step in pursuit of economic growth and empowering local businesses. The council is championing a game-changing initiative that calls for 40% of all government procurements across the 55 African countries to be allocated to the African private

The Africa Private Sector Dialogue on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) was hosted by the Kenyan government, under the 3rd Kenya International Investment Conference (KIICO) from Monday 29th to Wednesday 31st May 2023 at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, bringing together

President William Ruto stated that Kenya would ratify one of the Malabo Treaties (2014) focusing on empowering the Pan-African Parliament to be a proficient legislative organ of the African Union (AU) by September 2023. This arm of the AU only has advisory and consultative powers

Investments, Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary (CS) Moses Kuria has met 10 sitting presidents and a former president in an interval of one month, igniting speculations of clashing roles with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under CS Alfred Mutua. Even though Mr. Kuria on Monday

  Kenya   Users allowed to sue Safaricom over clients’ bank details access  The High Court has allowed millions of Safaricom subscribers to join a class action suit against the telecoms operator over a clause in the SIM card registration rules that allows the firm

The Financial Inclusion Fund popularly known as the ‘Hustler Fund’ is a flagship project of the Kenya Kwanza Government which will be launched on November 30 to offer cheap loans to ‘Hustlers’. It will be disbursed technologically through an app so that the youth can

As Kenya spearheads efforts for the continent to join the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFA), President William Ruto’s government has established the tone for economic diplomacy on the regional and continental fronts. In addition to four other agreements that would address non-tariff barriers like

Kenya and South Africa have enjoyed cordial relations since post-apartheid when resident diplomatic missions in Kenya and other countries were reopened. The cordial relations between the two countries were bolstered on 5 August, 2003, where the parties agreed to sign a Declaration of Intent on

Recently, Kenya was selected among several countries that would initiate trading under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The pilot phase is meant to test environmental, legal and trade policy basis for intra-African trade.Trading under the AfCFTA provides great opportunities such as a combined

Kenya’s electioneering season is now in its final stretch. On August 9, voters will head to polling stations across the country and in the diaspora to cast their votes. A peaceful General Election in Kenya will strengthen regional stability. The country needs a leader who

Kenya is a recognized trade hub in the continent, and has been viewed as an important strategic partner of the United States. This is evident from the nomination and recent approval by the US Senate of former CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise and eBay, Margaret

The 2022 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE) is the 37th version in an annual series that highlights significant foreign barriers to US exports, US foreign direct investment, and US electronic commerce. The NTE Report identifies significant barriers, regardless of whether they

The proposed maximum East African Community Common External Tariff rate of 35% is set to boost intra-EAC trade by USD 18.9 million if adopted by the EAC partner states. This is according  to an  analysis done by the East Africa Community Secretariat on the proposed

This week, the International Court of Justice( ICJ)  ruled on the maritime dispute between Kenya and Somalia . The bone of contention was in which direction each of the country’s borders extends into the Indian Ocean. Somalia said the boundary should run in the same

The East African Community member states are eyeing the Democratic Republic of Congo market of 86.7 million people and are eager to have the vast country join the bloc. With a surface area equivalent to that of Western Europe, the DRC is the largest country

The President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan arrived in Kenya on Tuesday this week following an invite from President Uhuru Kenyatta. The relationship between the two countries took a nosedive during the presidency of the late John Pombe Magufuli, her predecessor.

The World’s largest Free Trade Area is finally here with us covering a market of 1.27bn people with a combined GDP of 3.4 trillion US dollars. The region does enter the agreement with great momentum around trade: Exports have grown by nearly a factor of

With the United Kingdom (UK) set to conclude its exit from the European Union (EU) at the end of December, 2020 it has decided to enter into a bilateral agreement with Kenya. On Tuesday 08th December, 2020, the two countries formally signed a trade agreement ending an

Ideally, removing the non-tariff barriers that remain the biggest hindrance to continental trade can foster regional integration, which must play a key role in the crisis recovery strategies in Africa.

It’s impossible to overstate how much Congress cares about agriculture – US agriculture is very productive, and we now want to work out how to sell it.” – A Senior USTR Adviser, 2020

Although Kenya may not feature as one of the top ten importers for the US market, the textile and apparel industry has the potential to alleviate the unemployment crisis in the country

COMESA is the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. In 2018, they agreed to establish a Digital Free Trade Area (DFTA). The initiative that upon inception was expected to create a $17.2 billion-worth market for member states is an online platform for trade facilitation

The AfCFTA offers a unique opportunity to develop an inclusive trade system and economic model by increasing intra-continental trade; but in order to trade, Africa first has to produce; and not just primary commodities. However, the AfCFTA will only promote intra-African trade if governments actually implement it

A population estimated at 1.3 billion predominantly made up of young people and with an
abundance of natural resources, Africa presents market opportunities, a growing labour force
and raw materials for manufacturing.