The Prime Minister will welcome Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta to Chequers this afternoon, ahead of the two leaders hosting the Global Education Summit in London tomorrow.
They are expected to plant a tree at the Prime Minister’s official country residence, to mark our ambition to grow the long-standing partnership between the UK and Kenya and tackle climate change together ahead of COP26. The Prime Minister and President will hold talks on issues including trade, defence, development, and the global fight against Covid-19.
The UK will offer 817,000 vaccine doses to Kenya to support efforts to combat the pandemic, with the first 400,000 doses going this week. This is part of a delivery of 9 million Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines to COVAX and directly to individual countries due to be announced by the Foreign Secretary today, the first tranche of the UK’s commitment to share 100 million vaccine doses internationally by next June.
The UK and Kenya are also working together to boost investment and business links between our two countries. The trading relationship is already worth around £1.4 billion a year, with 40 per cent of all tea consumed in the UK coming from Kenya.
President Kenyatta launched the Nairobi International Finance Centre at an event at Mansion House in conjunction with the City of London yesterday [Tuesday], and UK insurance firm Prudential announced they would be the first company to sign up to the Centre and establish their Africa HQ in Kenya.
There were a number of major new investments announced in clean tech, reflecting the UK and Kenya’s commitment to cooperate on accelerating the shift to renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure.
Among others, a new £58 million fund, anchored by £35 million of UK Government investment, was launched to finance the construction of 10,000 green affordable homes in Kenya, and a £3.3 million investment was announced from UK-backed InfraCo Africa to finance the expansion of off-grid solar energy in Western Kenya.
Speaking ahead of today’s meeting, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
The UK and Kenya share a long and rich history, but this is a relationship that is focused on the future.
As friends and allies, we are sharing UK vaccine doses to support Kenya’s fight against the pandemic. From boosting economic growth to addressing climate change and getting girls into school, the UK and Kenya are working hand-in-hand to deliver a more secure and prosperous world.
I look forward to welcoming President Kenyatta today to drive that agenda forward, and to joining forces tomorrow to raise vital funds at the Global Education Summit in London.
The UK and Kenya will co-host the Global Education Summit on Thursday to raise $5 billion over the next five years for the work of the Global Partnership for Education to get 175 million vulnerable children into learning. World leaders, businesses, charities, education experts and youth ambassadors are expected to attend the event in London. Photo by Wikimedia commons.