News
Raila starts China tour
Thursday (Chengdu, China) - Prime Minister Raila Odinga has arrived in Chengdu city, China at the head of a Kenyan delegation to the 10th Western China International Economy and Trade Fair.
The plane carrying the PM and his entourage touched down at the Shuangliu international airport at shortly before 5pm Kenyan time where he was received by Mr Huang Runqiu of the Chinese Communist Party and Kenya’s ambassador to China Julius ole Sunkuli.
Mr Odinga will on Friday attend the official opening ceremony of the trade fair at which Kenya is exhibiting.
He will later hold talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on bilateral relations between the two countries.
On the sidelines of the trade fair, the PM will meet with other World leaders attending the trade fair and officials of various manufacturing companies in China. The PM is also expected to tour some of the manufacturing plants.
In the delegation are Cabinet Ministers Amos Kimunya (Trade), Franklin Bett (Roads) and Chris Obure (Public Works) and Assistant Minister Charles Keter (Energy).
In an interview earlier, ambassador Sunkuli noted that trade between Kenya and China has been on the increase in the recent times. He said before the 2008 post election violence, Kenya’s imports from China stood at US$1 billion while exports were US$38 million.
“The government has put in place appropriate programmes to redress this trade imbalance which is in favour of China,” he said.
The ambassador added that China’s involvement in infrastructure development in Kenya is outstanding noting they have constructed a number of roads in Kenya that has tremendously improved the road network in the country.
“China has also offered Kenyan students scholarships and currently there are 38 Kenyan students on Chinese scholarships in this country.”
“The number of Chinese who are doing business in Kenya is also on the increase,” he added.
On tourism, Mr Sunkuli observed that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Kenya had risen to 20,000 before 2007 noting the figures that have since gone down are set to increase once again following renewed confidence in Kenya.
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We are very 'impressed' with your tours Mr. Amolo since despite that you are doing nothing productive for Kenyans besides yapping around and your usual rhetorics, you are very good in begging money in the name of development partnership. we hope one of this fine trips you will be smitten by the true spirit of working and not only walking as the Chinese people do!!!!!
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Raila, enjoy your holiday in Govt while your Zimbabwe counterpart Morgan Tsvangirai is still whining. Did you want to be president to roam around the globe and Kenyan villages or to serve taxpayers? When do you ever sit down in your office to work? How beneficial are these endless trips you make with our cash and gatherings you address in hotels? We want less talk and posturing but IMPROVED SERVICE DELIVERY. I’m glad you never made it to State House. You are no better than Kibaki and Moi you spend your energy criticising.
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The PM is well advised visiting countries like China and India than the West. In the last couple of years, we have seen China and India help Kenya economically particularly in infrastructure development than we have seen from the west. The west just wants to advance their interest without regard to those of our own. In the long run, China's impact to the common man will be more felt than that of the west. However our relationship with China should not be followed blindly
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