Kenyans traveling to Mozambique will now not be required to acquire visas before visiting the Southern African nation, thanks to a visa waiver agreement signed between the two countries on Wednesday. Similar courtesies will be extended to Mozambicans coming to Kenya.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Mozambican counterpart, President Filipe Nyusi, witnessed the signing of a bilateral agreement to abolish visa requirements for citizens of both countries in order to ease trade and travel between the two nations.
President Kenyatta challenged Kenya’s private sector to diversify its exports and to also tap into new investment opportunities in Mozambique, including in the lucrative mining, oil and gas sectors.
The President said Kenyan cement companies have now started importing coal from Mozambique, which also has vast deposits of natural gas, indicating that trade between the two countries is growing.
He also invited companies and traders from Mozambique to invest in Kenya’s expanding economy which is open, safe and friendly for business.
The two leaders said improvement in infrastructure will boost Intra-Africa trade, which is still very low.
President Kenyatta said he will work closely with President Nyusi for the successful implementation of all agreements signed between the two nations.
On his part, President Nyusi said Kenya and Mozambique have strong bonds because they share a history stretching back to more than a millennium and that the people of the two nations are related.
President Nyusi urged the private sector in both nations to spearhead the expansion of economic partnerships between the two nations, especially in sectors such as agriculture, agribusiness, minerals, tourism among others.
“We should enhance partnership between our private sectors,” said President Nyusi, who noted that his country can share its experience in fishing with Kenya.
He said Mozambique will participate in the upcoming Blue Economy Conference to be held in Nairobi from Monday next week. President Nyusi will lead the Mozambican delegation at the conference where 11 Heads of State and 8,000 delegates are expected to attend.
The Kenya-Mozambique business forum was also attended by Deputy President William Ruto and Cabinet Secretary for Trade and Industry Peter Munya among other government officials.
President Kenyatta said that Kenya and Mozambique will, beside their economic partnership, work together in fighting terrorism and other forms of organised crimes.
President Nyusi said he was impressed by the democratic space in Kenya and encouraged President Kenyatta to continue fostering the principle of separation of powers, which is the cornerstone of democracy. He said that Mozambicans will always remain grateful for the role Kenya played in bringing the Mozambican civil war to an end.
“Kenya, to Mozambique, is not just another country. It is part of our history,” he said.
He praised Kenya as a land of champions including the first African Woman Nobel Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai and legendary athletes like Kipchoge Keino.