Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki left Nairobi for Pretoria on Monday to begin a three-day visit expected to include trade talks with his South African counterpart Thabo Mbeki.
Kenya, South Africa’s sixth largest trading partner on the continent outside the Southern African Development Community region, faces a massive trade imbalance with South Africa and complains of high tariffs on Kenyan goods entering the South African market.
South African exports to Kenya reached R2,3-billion ($309-million) last year, compared with Kenya’s sales of just R110-million ($14,7-million) worth of goods to South Africa.
Pahad said that talks between Kibaki and Mbeki would also touch on terrorism, which has severely damaged Kenya’s tourism industry.
”We have to help Kenya rebuild its tourism industry that was very badly hit by the terrorist attacks in that country and elsewhere,” Pahad said while briefing reporters on Kibaki’s visit.
Tourism, a key sector of the Kenyan economy, suffered after suicide bombers blew up an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa last November, killing 12 Kenyans and three Israelis.
The sector was also affected after several Western countries advised their nationals against travelling to Kenya earlier this year.
In May, Kenya’s National Security Minister Chris Murungaru called for defence agreements between Kenya and South Africa, saying these were crucial to peace-building in Africa.
Kibaki’s visit to South Africa is his third foreign trip, and his first outside the East African region, since he assumed office in December after his opposition alliance defeated the party of former president Daniel arap Moi in general elections. – Sapa-AFP