MESSAGE FROM H.E. PROF. JULIUS KIBET BITOK, PHD, MBS, HIGH COMMISSIONER OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA TO PAKISTAN ON THE 58TH ANNIVERSARY OF KENYA’S INDEPENDENCE

TEXT: Fifty-eight years ago, Kenya gained her independence from Great Britain and embarked on the path of social transformation. Since then, the country has made huge strides in various fields and is now in the process of accelerating development in the areas of infrastructural development, information communication and technology, health, manufacturing, housing, green energy, food security, to mention but a few.

As the world enters the fourth industrial revolution, technology has become the center of everything we do and produce. Kenya like Pakistan, is leveraging on the power of technology through the digitization and automation of processes such as land records, land registration, business registration, court processes, revenue collection, among others.

These developments have seen marked improvement in the business environment in the country. As a result, Nairobi is now ranked the best city to live in Africa, and the 12th best city to live in the world by the Inter Nations Expat City Ranking 2021 report. This is a testament of the excellent opportunities the country offers and we invite Pakistani businessmen and women to explore them.

In the area of trade, the volume of trade between our two countries continues to grow. While Pakistan consumes Kenyan tea, Kenya consumes a lot of rice grown in Pakistan. We endeavor to expand the product offering available in both countries so as to leverage on the comparative advantage that exists in our two countries. On tourism, I urge Pakistanis to explore the various tourist attractions available in Kenya, which range from the beautiful beaches and hotels in the Coast to wildlife safaris in the hinterland.

I look forward to deepening and strengthening the excellent relations that exist between our two countries even further. While the COVID-19 has affected people to people interaction, I believe in the coming year, the situation will greatly improve. In this regard, I call upon the international community to accelerate vaccine sharing, so that lack of vaccines does not become a barrier to people-to people interaction.

Shukrani

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021