STATEMENT BY H.E.

PRESIDENT UHURU KENYATTA DURING THE ETHIO-KENYA BILATERAL MEETING AT THE NATIONAL PALACE IN ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA, 11TH MARCH, 2014 Excellency and Dear brother, It is a great pleasure to meet, and to reflect on our prospects for deeper cooperation. But allow me, first to thank Your Excellency, your Excellencys go ernment and the people of Ethiopia for the gracious hospitality accorded to me and my delegation. !et me also express my thanks for your courteous gesture in "oining us at the celebrations which marked the fiftieth year of #enyas independence. #enyans were honoured by your presence, and I bring you their fraternal greetings. Bilat !al R lati"#$ $elations between our two countries ha e the ad antage of a deep foundation of mutual trust and common interests. %o meet, as we do today, is to renew a friendship. &ur candid and in'depth exchange of iews will, I trust, ele ate relations between our countries to a new plane. S% &ial Stat'$ A(! ) #t

In (pril )*+), #enya and Ethiopia signed a ,pecial ,tatus (greement whose aim was the impro ement of economic cooperation between our two countries. %he promise of the ,pecial ,tatus (greement is e ident. -or our part we undertake to implement them fully. %he pri.e is too large to permit delay. %he (greement recogni.es the need to foster cooperation in key sectors of the economy/ in %rade, in In estment, in Infrastructure and in -ood ,ecurity. Ethiopia and #enya pro ide a ast market of more than +0* million people1 each countrys comparati e ad antage includes rich experience in the industrial application of technologies and corporate management. 2e ought to allow our respecti e strengths full play, expanding exchange and cooperation in e ery key area of mutual concern. &ur agreement also mandated an institutional framework to direct the planning, implementation, monitoring and e aluation of all acti ities to be undertaken. 2hile we await ratification of the (greement, to signal the coming into force of the ,,( in both countries, I ha e directed my 3abinet ,ecretaries to nominate officials to the 4igh'!e el 5oint %ripartite 3ouncil,

and the 5oint %echnical 3ommittee, to prepare plans for the implementation process. I can report that #enya has met its domestic legal re6uirements under the (greement, and we ha e communicated as much to your great country through the normal diplomatic channels. 2e must also identify new areas of cooperation, and upgrade both the 6uality and le el of our mutual work. I expect that the arious 7emoranda of 8nderstanding we ha e signed will be implemented within specific timelines. I#* $t) #t Excellency, our fraternal trade grows e ery year. I trust, then, that Draft proposal (greement on ( oidance of Double taxation between our two countries will be expedited to strengthen that trade and In estment between us. 2e need also to adapt to the changing global in estment en ironment, in est in new areas and impro e our in estment patterns. 2e welcome our Ethiopian brothers to take an acti e part in our economy, and partner with us in growing key sectors, such as transport and hospitality. 7y go ernment will support and facilitate Ethiopian in estment in #enya, as we undertook to do under the ,pecial ,tatus (greement. I ha e no doubt that you, in you turn, will gi e e ery help to #enyan companies who in est here. I#+!a$t!'&t'! %wo years ago, our two countries, together with the $epublic of ,outh ,udan, launched a mega infrastructure pro"ect at our coastal town of !amu/ %he !amu 9ort, ,outh ,udan, and Ethiopia %ransport :!(9,,E%; corridor. 7illions of our people will see their prospects enriched. &ur excellent bilateral relations sped the signing of the rele ant agreements, and 7emoranda of 8nderstanding1 they also underpin our trust that the targets we ha e set oursel es will be met. Energy remains critical for our regions de elopment. #enya commends you for the diligence with which you are building the <ibe III pro"ect. 8nder the 9ower 9urchase (greement of )*+), we anticipate benefiting from the new electricity that will become a ailable on <ibes completion.

2e cannot deny the e idence that the construction of the dam might impact li elihoods in the !ake %urkana and $i er &mo basins. 2e welcome your assurance that these concerns ha e been taken into consideration. It may be best to agree a framework for the "oint

management of our shared water resources. I am aware that an ongoing pro"ect under 8=E9 auspices is looking into the matter1 I would wish it urgently concluded. In reference to the =ile Basin 3omprehensi e -ramework (greement, #enya has begun the legal processes that will end in its ratification.
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Inter'ethnic clashes and cattle rustling across our common border remain a great concern. ( permanent answer to this difficult situation is greatly to be desired. 2e continue to organi.e "oint inspection, maintenance and rehabilitation of the beacons on our common boundary. %he 5oint Border (dministrators and 3ommissioners are encouraged to communicate fre6uently, and to continue to settle matters amicably. It is common knowledge that our border regions ha e seen widespread proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons. (ttempts to disarm the communities on either side of the border remain incomplete. 2e must continue to de elop common approaches, and carry out "oint exercises, that will help in disarming border communities. Do.ens of Ethiopian nationals continue to be arrested in #enya whilst in illegal transit to southern (frican countries. 2e must work closely together, to dismantle the cartels behind this costly form of human trafficking. -or this, and other reasons, there remain many Ethiopians in prisons in #enya, ser ing "ail sentences or awaiting trial. It is time to agree means for the mutual exchange of prisoners.
R (i"#al P a& , S &'!it. a#- C""% !ati"# (rmed conflicts in our region remain the ma"or obstacle to sustainable peace and de elopment1 indeed, they promise to roll back our de elopmental gains. (s members of I<(D, it is imperati e that we remain collecti ely engaged in the search for durable peace in ,udan, ,outh ,udan and ,omalia. 3ooperation and mutual support between our two countries in handling these conflicts remains critical. It is our inescapable duty to do all we can to end these troubles. 2e ha e a particularly pressing responsibility

to restore order in our neighbor ,omalia, the better to deny insurgents and terror groups such as (l ,habaab bases of operation. &ur two brother countries ha e continued to cooperate on issues of regional and multilateral concern. In an increasingly globali.ed world, our two nations ha e tightened their ties. !et me take this opportunity to salute Your Excellency for the able and effecti e tenure as 3hair of the (frican 8nion between 5anuary )*+0 and 5anuary )*+>. Your contribution to the 9an'(frican agenda will li e long in the memory/ it was during your tenure, indeed, that the foundations of the future of the (frican 8nion were agreed. E6ually, during your tenure, #enya recei ed unwa ering support from Ethiopia in pursuit of national, regional and continental interests at the (8 le el. %he hosting of the 9an (frican 8ni ersity, the re'hatting of our troops in ,omalia into (7I,&7, and, more recently, the debate on international "urisdiction and "urisprudence, "ustice and the International 3riminal 3ourt :I33;, are but some of the instances in which your resolute support was to #enyas ad antage. !et me reiterate my gratitude to Your Excellency and your -oreign 7inister, (to %edros (dhanom <ebreyesus, for the leadership you showed in the entire process. It exemplified the best in (frican solidarity, and demonstrated that when (frica speaks in one oice, we are indomitable. You can count on #enyas support when need arises. C"#&l'$i"# Your Excellency, let me obser e that our isit demonstrates my <o ernments readiness to work with you for the common good. %he continuous growth of the #enya'Ethiopia strategic and economic partnership will, I am certain, pro ide a larger stage on which the people of our two countries can bring out their talent and pursue mutually beneficial cooperation. -inally, it is my pleasure to close by extending a warm in itation to your Excellency to isit #enya at an agreed and con enient time. %hank you all ery much.