Kenya, Canada to sign investment promotion deal

NAIROBI, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) — Kenya and Canada are set to sign an agreement on the promotion of investments and trade between the two countries, officials said on Monday.

Canadian High Commissioner to Kenya David Angell told Xinhua in Nairobi that the two governments are talking to each other and the two foreign affairs ministers have reaffirmed their commitment to signing the deal.

“I hope the deal will be concluded by the end of 2016,” Angell said on the sidelines of the launch of the Public Legal Education Initiative that is being funded by the Canadian government.

“The investment pact will help to draw the attention of investors to the opportunities that each market presents to each country,” Angell said.

He noted that there is need for more economic cooperation so as to build on the already existing good bilateral relations.

Kenya and Canada have already signed a Double Taxation agreement. The envoy noted that the two nations have also signed an agreement on coding sharing on airline flights.

“The aim is to make travel between the two countries easier even as we consider the possibility of introducing direct flights,” he said.

The Canadian official said that his country is ready to assist Kenya as it moves towards being a natural resources based economy. The East African nation recently made discoveries of commercially viable oil.

Canadian oil firm Africa oil Corporation is currently conducting oil exploration in Kenya. Angell said that his country hopes to be part of Kenya’s success in exploiting its natural resources.

“We are a natural resources based economy and so we have developed expertise on how to leverage mining to improve the living standards of local communities,” he said.

Toronto hosts the largest capital market for the mining sector while Canada is one of the largest foreign investors in Africa’s mining sector.

“We have a lot of expertise and goodwill to share with Kenyan counterparts. We are willing to help Kenya to improve its capacity to audit and improve transparency in the mineral sector,” the envoy said.

According to the High Commissioner, bilateral trade remains low despite the long historical ties.

Canada exports machinery products to Kenya while the East African nation exports mainly consist of agricultural products to the North American nation.

Canadian based University of Manitoba and University of Nairobi are currently collaborating on conducting research on combating HIV.