SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT UHURU KENYATTA DURING A BILATERAL MEETING WITH HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT XI JINPING OF THE

PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 19 AUGUST 2013 AT BEIJING Your Excellency Distinguished Ministers Ladies and Gentlemen It is my pleasure to thank Your Excellency, the Government and people of China for the excellent and warm reception accorded to my delegation since our arrival in your great country. I thank you for hosting us to these bilateral talks. We have deeply experienced and delighted in the hospitality for which you are rightly renowned. This year, Kenya observes its 50th anniversary of independence, which happened after a long struggle for liberty, dignity and prosperity for our people. During that eventful period, China supported us in our quest for freedom, as it did many other liberation movements in Africa. Your country was among the earliest to recognise our independence. China stood by us as a strong and true friend and partner. As it happens, we will be marking 50 years of a strong friendship and fruitful partnership between our two countries. I want to make a few remarks of great importance to me personally, and to Kenya in general. We now have a tradition of continually renewing a bond between our peoples that predates the establishment of a formal state in Kenya, having begun in the 15th century when Zheng He, your legendary navigator sailed to the East Africa coast with a message of friendship and goodwill. In due course, the Kenyan coast, and particularly the historic Lamu city became the arena of constant, transformational contact between Africa and China. Relations between peoples and nations can be fateful. We are thankful that Kenya's bond with China unfailingly yielded remarkable mutual benefits, making both the relationship and its impact significant. Going forward, let us together map out and develop a comprehensive blue-print for the next 50 years. I hope our countries will come together, join hands, and build the highest level of partnership. Your Excellency Your great country stands among history's greatest civilisations. Its struggles, progress and success inspire many admirers throughout the world, who wish to emulate it. Just like the scale of its spectacular success today, the magnitude of China's challenges only three decades ago was similarly great. The strategies that enabled it achieve success offer special lessons. As you have frequently stated, your party has united and led the people to advance and struggle tenaciously, transforming the Old China into the New China that has gradually become prosperous and strong.

I agree with your observation that the great revival of the Chinese nation has demonstrated unprecedented bright prospects. It is my hope, Your Excellency, that your party and the Jubilee Coalition that I lead can initiate a friendship to facilitate the exchange of productive political and governance initiatives. Your Excellency, please allow me to express my admiration of your Government's and personal leadership of your people. I have a deep appreciation of the leadership philosophy you espouse both for China and internationally. It reflects your nation's proud tradition of diligence, courage and wisdom, and underscores your stated intention to promote world peace and stability through development of individual countries. I agree that international fairness must be secured through a strategy of equality, democracy and inclusiveness at all times, through all global conditions. I say this because throughout our dynamic relationship, you have unfailingly demonstrated the possibility and success of cooperation based on mutual benefit and win-win outcomes. Our countries' partnership has never been about exploitation or manipulation, but rather mutuality and positive results. I am proud to say that at the moment, China is Kenya's leading trade, investment and development partner. Our engagement in the areas of commerce, transport and communication, human resource development, science and technology and energy has been productive. I am committed to enhancing the collaboration in these and other areas of mutual interest for the benefit of our peoples. Currently, my Government is implementing an ambitious national development blue print, the Vision 2030, intended to transform the country into a "newly industrializing, middle-income economy" providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by the year 2030. It is true that we have many challenges, and the time to accomplish this transformation is short. But we draw inspiration from you. China, with vaster territory, bigger challenges and population, was able to spectacularly transform itself over a similarly brief period, becoming the envy of the whole world. For this reason, I feel that in China we have an ideal partner. Already, your Government is playing a critical role in the realisation of our Vision 2030, especially in the execution of capital-intensive flagship projects such as the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia (LAPSSET) transport corridor. This project will immensely improve regional interconnectivity and enhance the free movement of people, services and goods. In June, the Presidents of Uganda, Rwanda and I held a regional Infrastructure Summit in Uganda, at which we discussed projects to undertake, including the Standard Gauge Railway,

increasing efficiency at the port of Mombasa, as well as facilitating the movement of people, goods and services by harmonising customs, tax and other procedures. Next week, Kenya will host a follow-up Summit and I am happy to note that in some of our stated objectives, even in this short period, we have already recorded significant achievements. Your Excellency I am happy to note that Kenya and China continue to cooperate on diverse international issues. We share a common vision on such subjects as climate change and the urgent need for reform of the United Nations Security Council. It is my Government's intention to deepen this collaboration. I embrace this partnership as well in the context of your leadership of BRICS, which plays a pivotal role in global affairs, as well as the Indian Ocean Rim, which represents success that can be achieved by a focused regional grouping. Africa, and our region in particular, is witnessing historic progress in the area of conflict resolution and peace building. This is a result of a firm collective commitment of regional states to a shared strategy of boldly and proactively addressing our security challenges. These gains are essential because peace and stability guarantee prosperity. Concerning our region, I thank the Government of China for its important role and urge you to continue supporting initiatives aimed at stabilising and rebuilding Somalia. I urge Your Excellency to enhance the support your country has extended to the African Union Mission in Somalia, especially since the European Union has indicated its intention to reduce funding for AMISOM and encouraged the AU to seek new partners. I also invite Your Excellency to play a greater role in the initiatives adopted by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, particularly in regard to the situation in Eastern Congo, as well as the full implementation of the agreements concluded between the two Sudanese Republics. Your Excellency It is a pleasant coincidence that Your Excellency and I assumed the leadership of our respective countries at this important and historic milestone of the Golden Jubilee anniversary of our bilateral relations. We have a unique opportunity to infuse a fresh momentum to our long-standing partnership and to adopt new strategies that meet the demands of an exciting new era. Just like their history, the future of our two countries and indeed that of China and Africa are intricately bound. As most aptly captured by Your Excellency during your recent tour of Africa, the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation is intimately tied to the African Dream of self-reliance and development. I draw much assurance from the fact that our bond, which has

endured for long, is founded on strong shared values of dignity, liberty and unwavering commitment to the happiness of our peoples. I wish to recognise the special role played by the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in enhancing cooperation between your country and our continent. Kenya identifies strongly with the resolution of the 5th FOCAC Ministerial Conference to protect our shared development space, promote the construction of a more open and free global governance mechanism, carry out further strategic dialogues, exchange experiences on national governance, promote mutual trust and broaden friendly cooperation. In the spirit of shared prosperity and friendship, I wish to assure Your Excellency of my desire to continue cooperating closely with you and build a strong, strategic partnership. I also take this opportunity to thank Your Excellency for sending your Special Envoy to my inauguration ceremony. Your Excellency Before I conclude, may I mention sevenissues that I would like Your Excellency to consider. First is the urgent need for power generation to support my countrys development agenda. We invite Chinese investors to take advantage of our recently discovered coal reserves, as well as geothermal, solar and other resources. Second. We are looking to start work on the Standard Gauge Rail project. We are in discussions for a facility with Exim Bank of China. I would appreciate Your Excellencys support for this project and further request that the concessional portion for the facility be enhanced beyond 50 per cent where it currently stands. Third. May I bring to Your Excellencys attention thatwe are developing a high-tech city at Konza, near Nairobi, known as the Silicon Savannah. We hope that China can take advantage of this opportunity to place its companies in our technology sector, and potentially at the heart of technology development in Africa. We are in the process of developing Special Economic Zones modelled along the successful ones in China, such as in Shenzhen, which I will visit this week. We are keen to work with your Government and Business community to enable Chinese investors to be the pioneer players in these Special Economic Zones. Fourth. It is our desire to continually strengthen our ties. To do this, we are keen to increase the number of direct flights into China from Kenya. I therefore announce the intention of Kenya Airways to commence direct flights into Beijing as soon as suitable timings are approved by Your Excellencys Government.

Beyond this, our new Constitution has availed opportunities at the grassroots level through counties. I welcome Chinese investment in these devolved units and request Your Excellency to encourage businesses to extend their interests to these new opportunities. Fifth. Kenya is already an established financial and transport hub in East Africa. With Chinas increasing role in infrastructure development and investment, the use of the Chinese currency has gained stock. I would appreciate your governments support to host a Reminbi Clearing House. Sixth. In keeping with our shared vision of a prosperity underpinned by security, my Government has duly invested substantially in this area. To consolidate domestic and regional security, I invite Your Excellencys Government to complement our investment in housing and equipment. Seventh. Our development will be accelerated through the provision of quality and relevant education. I request Your Excellencys Government to support us in developing technical and vocational institutions critical to this agenda through enhanced funding and technical assistance. Your Excellency We are united by our common history and future prospects as well as other bonds, including the aspirations of our peoples to see their children born, grow up, work and live in an ever-improving environment. As Your Excellency has correctly noted, peoples yearning for a good and beautiful life is the goal for which we strive. We hope that in seeking security and prosperity, we will guarantee this desire. I also share your view that every bit of happiness in the world has to be created by diligent work and a secure environment. In conclusion, Your Excellency, just like the Chinese people, Kenyans are diligent. Kenyans are astute. Kenyans are efficient, innovative and hardworking. We stand on the shores of the Indian Ocean and, like China, look to catch a glimpse of a golden dawn of promise. We know that to succeed, every country needs a strong and true friend. We see such a friend in China. Your Excellency I thank you.