President William Ruto, on Wednesday, May 3, announced three avenues of partnership between Kenya and the Government of Japan.
The announcement was made after the Head of State held bilateral talks with Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at State House, Nairobi.
One of the key deals agreed upon was job opportunities for Kenyans seeking to work in the Asian country.
“In our deliberations with Kishida, we agreed to align the curricular of our two countries so that Kenyans can access skilled and quality jobs in Japan,” the President stated.
The Head of State added that the Japanese government was key in implementing his bottom-up economic agenda.
One of the ways the Ruto-led government seeks to improve the economy is by setting up industrial parks, and Japan is committed to investing in that regard.
“We have agreed on the development of the Dongo Kundu economic zone in Mombasa to expedite its construction,” Ruto explained how the Japanese government would help Kenya economically.
In return, Ruto promised to facilitate Japanese investors to exploit the industrial park.
“Kenya is going to facilitate the investment of Japanese companies and also support Japan to be able to finance Kenya’s infrastructure and other developments,” the President stated.
Ruto added that part of the bilateral talks included bringing aboard Japanese companies to invest in government projects under Public Private Partnership (PPP).
“We have agreed on a PPP arrangement around the construction of our dams for the purpose of harvesting water for irrigation, livestock development and water for domestic use,” the President stated.
On Thursday, February 23, Ruto revealed that his government would build 100 mega and 1,000 small dams for irrigation, livestock and domestic use.
Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived on a two-day tour in Kenya on Tuesday, May 2. This was his first visit to Kenya since he was elected into office in October 2021.
In September 2022, Kishida sent Makihara Hideki, Secretary-General of the Japan-African Union (AU) Parliamentary Friendship League, to grace President William Ruto's inauguration.
During his visit, Special Envoy Hideki also visited Kenya Medical Research Institute and held a discussion with Japanese business people in Kenya.
