President Uhuru Kenyatta jets back from tour of the US

President Uhuru Kenyatta received by his deputy William Ruto on arrival at JKIA from the US-AFRICA Summit in Washington DC.

President Uhuru Kenyatta arrived back to the country from United States where he has been attending the US-Africa summit hosted by US President Barack Obama.

At the Jomo Kenyatta Airport (JKIA) to receive the President upon arrival at 10.15pm was Deputy President William Ruto, several Cabinet Secretaries, MPs drawn from both the Senate and National Assembly, Chief of General Staff Joseph Karangi and Inspector General David Kimaiyo among others.

President Kenyatta’s visit focused on strengthening ties between the US and Kenya in trade, capital investment, infrastructure, energy and security.

The President held a number of high level meetings with Chief Executives of major US companies that are keen in investing in Kenya.

He also met a select group of businesspeople who have Kenya-specific investment proposals at a forum convened by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the US Chamber of Commerce.

Investment opportunities for US companies in Kenya’s mega infrastructure projects, newly discovered petroleum deposits and power-generation initiatives were the focus of talks during the President’s visit.

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And while addressing American investors from Texas, the President assured them that Kenya offers a good investment environment and asked them to come and compete for the various big infrastructure projects the government is undertaking.

He told the business leaders mainly from Texas at a luncheon hosted in his honour at the George W Bush Presidential Centre in Dallas their investments would be protected by the recently opened international arbitration centre.

The President said the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration, whose board was inaugurated last year, will make investors comfortable when entering into business ventures.

“The international arbitration centre will make our investors know that they are in an environment they are comfortable with,” he said.

The board is headed by Mr Arthur Rigeria.

International arbitration has gained popularity over the last decades as investors got wary of the uncertainties and delays of dispute resolution processes all over the world.

Arbitration delivers quicker decisions, which are usually easier to enforce than court decisions.

The President told the business executives that Kenya’s Judiciary was robust and has been undergoing reforms that are yielding positive results.

“Our Judiciary was recently voted the 5th best in Africa by a Gallup poll and more progress is being made to make it more efficient,” he said.

President Kenyatta told the investors that security challenges that have faced the country over the recent past are being addressed.