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Turkish president in Kenya for three-day visit

Xinhua, June 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began Thursday a three-day visit to Kenya, aiming to forge closer partnerships on trade and scout for investment opportunities in the East African nation.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta welcomed President Erdogan to State House, Nairobi, with an elaborate State reception complete with a 21-gun salute. The two presidents will later lead their delegations in bilateral talks.

According to officials at the ministry of foreign affairs, the two leaders will also discuss regional peace and security cooperation as well as how to work together in the water, transport, defence, agriculture, education and health sectors.

The presidents will equally discuss cooperation and review the status of agreements that are yet to be finalised.

Experts say Kenya which has a population of 45 million people, has great potential to conduct trade with Turkey in the oil, machinery, energy, motor vehicle, iron and steel industries.

Kenya is in dire need of investments in its energy infrastructure. According to Turkish official data, Turkey's exports to Kenya stood at 131 million U.S. dollars in 2015, with tractors, road vehicle parts and flour being the most exported item to the country.

Turkish officials who visited the region intend to make Kenya one of its top trading partners in terms of exports to the country.

The visiting president will, after the conclusion of the bilateral talks, head to the United Nations Office in Nairobi, where he will be received by the UN Environmental Program (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner.

President Kenyatta and President Erdogan will later in the afternoon attend a Kenya-Turkey Business Forum in Nairobi.

This is the second time a president of Turkey is paying a state visit to Kenya. The first was in 2009 when Abdullah Gul came for a three-day state visit. President Kenyatta paid a state visit to Turkey in 2014, the first by a Kenyan Head of State. Endit