The economy at the heart of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta's visit to France
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron during his visit to Paris on October 1, 2020. REUTERS / Gonzalo Fuentes / Pool
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3 min
The Kenyan head of state is accompanied by five of his ministers for this visit dedicated to economic cooperation.
He participated this Thursday morning in the conference of the Public Investment Bank, the institution responsible for promoting French companies abroad, alongside his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
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The two heads of state
took the opportunity to discuss the economic opportunities that bind them, despite the global health crisis.
And it was a rather determined Uhuru Kenyatta who appeared on the conference stage.
He of course mentioned the difficulties posed by the Covid-19 crisis, "
but the world must continue to turn
, he insisted,
we must continue to move forward
".
It is a global fight, recalled the Kenyan president, no country can do it alone, and for that, we must rely on Africa's main asset: the young generations.
“
We often look at the African continent for its natural resources: diamonds, oil, gas… And we tend to turn a blind eye to Africa's true potential: our young men and women, their ability to participate. building a better world for all of us
, ”said Uhuru Kenyatta.
Faced with French entrepreneurs, the leader assures him:
there are opportunities to be seized in Kenya
.
And at his side, President Emmanuel Macron does not hide his enthusiasm for the country.
A "
gateway
", in his words, "
to the whole region
".
“
For us, this is very important because we may have become used to having very large contracts with always the same players in the same countries in Africa.
And this is not good.
It is not good for African countries and it is not good for us.
Because that's not how we are innovative.
This is not how we give an image of France which is necessarily the right one.
This is not how we provide an answer that is most useful for entrepreneurship, youth and African development,
”said the French president.
Uhuru Kenyatta's visit to France is to last five days.
In particular, he still has to meet the Medef, that is to say the French employers.
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Kenya
France
Uhuru Kenyatta
Emmanuel Macron
Economy
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