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Roundup: S. Korean president lands in Kenya for 3-day state visit

Xinhua, May 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrived Monday in the Kenyan capital Nairobi for a three-day state visit during which she will sign various bilateral agreements with her host President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Park who arrived in Nairobi from Uganda is on a tour of Africa which has also taken her to Ethiopia is expected to meet President Kenyatta, business leaders and later deliver a speech at the United Nations office in Nairobi.

According to South Korean ambassador to Kenya, Young Dae Kwon, Park who was sworn in as South Korea's first female president in 2013, arrives with a delegation of more than 200 people, including businessmen and government officials.

Young said Memorandum of Understanding in security, health, agriculture, ICT, trade and culture will be signed in the tour.

"(South) Korea leads in e-government issues and that is what we would like to happen in Kenya because this will help in general growth economically, promote transparency and efficiency. We will also have agreements in security where we will share experience with Kenya on management of the border and terrorism among others," he said.

The envoy said South Korean health and supplementary food projects will also be inaugurated in her presence.

He said they have an agenda in the name of "Korea Aid," South Korea's new official development assistance (ODA) program for health care support, food production and cultural related exchanges in Africa.

In addition, a business-to-business forum is expected to take place in Nairobi to connect Kenyan investors with their South Korean counterparts.

South Korea is also supporting an agriculture research centre in Kiambu which is helping farmers with various farming techniques.

Young said South Korea will ask Kenya to relax some of the regulations that he argued are hindering their businesses from setting bases in Nairobi.

"There are many rules and regulations and bureaucracies that we feel are negatively affecting our business people in terms of investing in Kenya," he said.

He cited the process and time taken for South Korean people to get a work permit in Kenya terming it unnecessary. The envoy asked Kenya to make a conducive environment for investors to shift their bases here.

He said they expect the trade imbalance between Kenya and South Korea to be reduced through increased trading. Endit