President Uhuru Kenyatta landed in Nairobi on Wednesday night after an official trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The plane carrying the president landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at about 9pm. He was received by a handful of top security officials.
Kenyatta left the country on October 28.
While in Riyadh, Kenyatta attended the Future Investment Initiative where he urged the Middle Eastern countries to invest in Kenya’s expanding economy.
The Head of State highlighted that the trade volumes between the Middle East and Kenya are way below the trade that occurred between the two regions when traders depended on the monsoon winds to propel dhows.
Kenyatta said the integration of the African continent through the ACFTA (African Continental Free Trade Agreement) offers a lucrative environment for business ventures that are designed to create mutual benefits for the investors as well as the host nations.
He also met His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan where the two leaders discussed the progress in trade and bilateral relations between the two countries.
Kenyatta said the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has agreed to invest in Kenya’s Big Four projects.
The SFD also undertook to rally similar organisations in the Middle East to invest in Kenya’s economy.
The announcement was made in a meeting between Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani and the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of SFD, Dr Khalid Bin Sulaiman Alkhudairy.
Mr Alkhudairy said the Saudi Fund was keen in investing in Kenya’s Affordable Housing projects besides power, roads and education where it has already invested.
Alkhudairy said he appreciates that Kenya has steadily moved up in the rank of ease doing business index and the Saudi Fund is keen on increasing its portfolio in the country.
“Kenya’s improvement in the ease of doing business ranking is a reflection of the level of attention to make the trading environment better. We are ready to engage more and when we move we do not move alone. We will bring along our partners especially the Arab financial institutions,” said Mr Alkhudairy.
Mr Yattani encouraged the Saudi organisation to dedicate more funds for the whole spectrum of the Big Four Agenda including food security, manufacturing and universal health coverage.
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The meeting between Yattani and Mr Alkhudairy was also attended by Kenya’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mr Peter Ogego.
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