Kenya to host Great Lakes trade forum
News
By
Moses Njagih
| Aug 24, 2019
Kenya will next month host a key private sector business forum for the Great Lakes region. This will be ahead of the Great Lakes Investment and Trade Conference (GLITC) to be held in Kigali, Rwanda in November.
The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) revealed that they will play host to the General Assembly of the Great Lakes Region Private Sector Forum.
KNCCI sees the regional private sector forum, to be attended by representatives from 12 Great Lakes region member states, as an avenue to position Kenya as a regional investment hub.
While hosting the KNCCI President Richard Ngatia at the United Nations Complex in Gigiri, Nairobi yesterday, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the Great Lakes Region Huang Zia said the contribution of Kenya’s business community will bring peace in the Great Lakes Region through trade.
On his part, the KNCCI president committed that his organisation will work with the Office of the Special Envoy to ensure that the investment and trade conference in Kigali is successful to spur member countries’ economic growth.
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“The chamber is keen on solidifying the existing cordial relations the two offices enjoy in various fronts of cooperation, especially in bringing peace in the Great Lakes Region through trade,” Ngatia said.
Catalyst for peace
The regional private sector forum, which is slated for September 18, 2019, will see the chairman of the Great Lakes Region private sector and business community elected.
Huang and Ngatia agreed to jointly mobilise the required resources to ensure the Kigali conference is a success and becomes a catalyst for peace and security in the entire Great Lakes Region.
Huang reiterated the commitment of his office to work closely with KNCCI in an endeavour to rally the Kenyan private sector to support the GLITC conference.
Next week, President Uhuru Kenyatta will represent the country at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7) conference to be held in Yokohama, from August 28 to August 30. Ngatia will be part of the Kenyan delegation.