Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is expected in the country today for the launch of the One-Stop Border Post at Moyale in Marsabit County.
The visiting Ethiopian PM will land in Moyale where he will be received by President Uhuru Kenyatta for the commissioning of the Moyale One-Stop Border Post, which will ease immigration and customs clearance.
Kenya and Ethiopia signed a bilateral agreement in 2011 to develop the joint border point and road to enhance trade relations between the two.
Abiy, who will be on his second official visit, will be on a two-day tour whose agenda will largely centre on the enhancement of bilateral trade relations between two of East Africa’s leading economies.
Communication from State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena said after the official opening of the border post, President Kenyatta and Abiy will inspect the ongoing construction of the Lamu Port, which is part of the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (Lapsset) Corridor.
Uncertainty
The Sh71.2 billion tender for construction of the 32-berth port was awarded to the China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) in 2015. Three berths at the Lamu Port are now complete.
The tour of Lapsset by the two heads of state will put aside uncertainty about the project, especially after relations between Ethiopia and its neighbour Eritrea thawed.
Ethiopia currently relies on the Djibouti port for its international trade. It became landlocked after the secession of Eritrea in 1993. The Lapsset project's goal is to connect Ethiopia to the Kenyan coastline at Lamu and boost trade between the two countries.
However, Ethiopia's commitment to seeing through the Lapsset project was questioned after it reconciled with Eritrea in 2018 and subsequently announced its interest in using Eritrea's port.
Earlier this year, Ethiopia secured a Sh127.8 million grant for a feasibility study on a planned 1,522-km Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) link from Addis Ababa to Port of Sudan.
Abiy's visit will boost Kenya's confidence on its neighbour's commitment to the project whose viability had begun to be questioned.
The interconnected infrastructure includes the 32-berths seaport at Lamu, highways linking the countries, an oil refinery, and airports.
