Raila: Kenya, Russia to sign air traffic deal

Prime Minister Raila Odinga (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (centre) leave the conference hall after the official opening ceremony of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum Centre June 22, 2012 in Russia. PMPS

Kenya and Russia are set to sign a bilateral air traffic agreement that will allow their national carriers to fly directly to Moscow and Nairobi respectively.

The deal was arrived at during a meeting between Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Russia President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the 2012 St Petersburg International Economic Forum, which ended on Saturday.

The agreement came as PM’s visit to Russia appeared set to create a new momentum for stronger involvement of the eastern European country in Kenya’s economy.

President Putin made a personal pledge to push Russian companies to move into Kenya, saying the two countries had historical ties.

Mr Odinga said it could mark a new start in ties that will cover the fields of agriculture, education and tourism and Information Technology.

At the meeting with President Putin, Mr Odinga put the case for direct flights to Russia saying it would spur trade in horticulture and tourism and particularly make it easier for Kenyan farmers to access fertilisers from Russia.

The PM said absence of direct flights was the main reason Kenya, with more to offer in tourism than Egypt, attracts far less Russian tourists than the North African country.

Middlemen

Mr Odinga said direct flights would particularly help Kenya access Russia’s fertilizers, which currently comes to the country through middlemen who cause delays and drive prices up.

Alexander Novak, the Russian Federation’s Minister for Energy said the country is ready for a substantive cooperation with Kenya on integrated development covering Geothermal, clean coal, hydroelectric, oil and wind power generation.

He said Russia is ready to set up a joint working group with Kenya on how to cooperate in the energy sector where it has massive experience in oil and gas exploration, among other fields.

Lukoil, Russia's second largest oil company also indicated readiness to move into Kenya. The management of the company said it would send a delegation to Kenya before the end of July to scout for opportunities in oil and gas exploration.

The PM emphasised that Kenya needs to get its flowers directly into Russia, and not through Amsterdam and Russian tourists need to fly directly to Nairobi.

“Russia is the biggest producer of fertilisers in the world. But we are getting it through middlemen in Amsterdam and other brokers in Nairobi. This results in delayed deliveries, higher prices and poor harvests.

"Direct flights between Moscow and Nairobi will allow our people to import fertilisers directly and therefore address the critical missing links in the agriculture sector,” the PM said.

He said that last year, Kenya, with its diverse offers and at a lower cost, attracted only 7,000 tourists from Russia while the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh alone, with less to offer than Kenya, attracted more than a million Russian visitors.