Kenya and the European Union have signed a trade pact in Nairobi, the first major agreement signed with an African country since 2016, as Brussels seeks to strengthen commercial links and fight Chinese ambition.
Kenya and the European Union struck a trade agreement on Monday, a major victory for Brussels as it seeks stronger economic links with Africa in the face of Chinese competition.
The formal end of negotiations for the EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement was celebrated on Monday in Nairobi under the direction of Kenyan President William Ruto.
Kenya will have duty-free and quota-free access to the EU if it is ratified and put into effect. The EU is Kenya’s largest market, and it receives about one-fifth of all exports.
Imports from the EU to Kenya such as chemicals and machinery will receive progressive tariff reductions over a period of 25 years, but some sensitive products will be excluded.
Kenya’s main exports to the EU are agricultural products, including vegetables, fruits and the country’s famous tea and coffee.
More than 70 percent of Kenya’s cut flowers are destined for Europe.
Ruto, who said the EU was “the second most important development partner for Kenya after the World Bank” said the country’s farmers could be “assured of a predictable market” and the agreement provides new opportunities to boost this trade.
Dombrovskis said EU companies had invested 1 billion euros ($1.1bn) in Kenya in the past decade, but that there was “a strong appetite” to do more business.
“With this deal in place, we have the right platform to do so,” he said.
It is the first broad trade deal between the EU and an African nation since 2016 and follows a spending spree by China on lavish infrastructure projects across the continent.
The EU has taken steps to counter China’s Belt and Road program, announcing in February it would increase investments in Kenya by hundreds of millions of dollars through its own Global Gateway initiative.
It is part of a trend of African nations being wooed by Western partners in recent years as Russia and China increasingly gain a foothold in Africa.
Dombrovskis said the East African powerhouse was “a beacon of dynamism and opportunity”, echoing the international perception of Kenya’s relative stability in what remains a turbulent region.
In a briefing with reporters before Monday’s ceremony, Dombrovskis said Africa was a “priority region” for the EU, and he hoped the Kenya deal would “be a boost” to future trade links with Africa.
The Kenya deal is the culmination of trade talks between the EU and the East African Community (EAC) that started roughly a decade ago.
The EU and the EAC, followed by Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania, completed discussions for an economic partnership deal in 2014, but only Nairobi ratified it.
Kenya went its own way, but Dombrovskis said the accord was still open for other EAC countries to join, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.
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