Kenya seeks to host 12th World Chamber Congress

NAIROBI, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's trade lobby group said on Friday that its officials will travel to China next month to submit its bid to host the 12th World Chamber Congress as one of six candidates alongside Ethiopia, Oman, Iran, Jordan and Dubai.

The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) said if the bid is successful, the congress will present a rare opportunity for local investors to share a platform and create networks with leading business leaders from across the world.

KNCCI Chief Executive Officer Angela Ndambuki said the event presents a once-in-a-lifetime networking opportunity for Kenyan investors to interact and form partnerships with other business leaders from around the world.

The bid has already received the endorsement by President Uhuru Kenyatta as well as the Council of Governors and is currently seeking backing from the public and private sector ahead of the physical bid on April 10.

In his endorsement, Kenyatta said Nairobi as Kenya's capital city boasts of being the only city in the world with a national park and that has in the recent past been selected to host several international conferences.

"Nairobi also hosts the headquarters of many United Nations institutions and international companies. It would, therefore be an ideal location ... for the congress business," Kenyatta said.

According to the KNCCI, a successful bid by Kenya would lead to Africa hosting the first congress which has previously been hosted in France, South Korea, Canada, South Africa, Turkey, Malaysia, Mexico, Qatar, Italy with Brazil set to host the 2019 congress in Rio de Janeiro from 12-14 June 2019.

The 12th World Chamber Congress is a valuable and dynamic forum facilitating the exchange of real-world ideas and best practices on both chamber and business activities with the potential to bring thousands of attendees representing 14,000 chambers from over 100 countries to Nairobi. Enditem