Uhuru seeks to deepen China, Russia trade ties

President Uhuru Kenyatta with the Chief of the Defence Force Gen. Julius Karangi . FILE 

By ISAAC ONGIRI iongiri@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Saturday, August 10  2013 at  21:41

President Uhuru Kenyatta has planned an extensive tour of Asia and Europe after receiving two official invitations from Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

State House has confirmed that Mr Kenyatta will leave for Beijing on August 19 for his first State visit outside Africa where several bilateral deals are expected to be sealed.

The visits come at an interesting time when there is ongoing, underlying competition between China and United States well as the frosty relations between Washington and Moscow.

China has literally wrested the control of trade with Kenya and the rest of Africa from the US while the White House and the Kremlin are locked in a diplomatic spat over former intelligence analyst and CIA contractor Edward Snowden.

This week, President Barack Obama cancelled a meeting with Mr Putin, further heightening suspicions between the two countries. Foreign affairs and defence chiefs from the two governments, however, held a make-up meeting to defuse tension.

Last month, Mr Obama passed over Kenya on his three-nation African tour that included Tanzania. It is assumed issues related to cases facing President Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto at The Hague were behind the snub.

“Yes, President Kenyatta will be making an elaborate State visit to China beginning August 19 to August 23.There is also the Russian trip, but the itinerary is not yet clear,” said State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu.

He said the trips are both official and working visits because the President will have diplomatic and bilateral engagements with state officials and investors.

According to the Chinese embassy in Nairobi, bilateral ties with Kenya have strengthened over the years with major Chinese investments recorded in Kenya. Chinese firms are planning multi-billion-shilling investments in Kenya that could also see the establishment of a motor vehicle assembly plant in Nairobi.