19/06/2023
Kenya, EU Sign Economic Partnership Agreement;
Kenya and the European Union have reached an agreement on an Economic Partnership, a development poised to boost trade and investment relations between the EU and Kenya.
The discussions, which were held in the presence of President William Ruto, were concluded by European Commission Executive Vice-President and EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and Cabinet Secretary of Kenya's Ministry of Investments, Trade, and Industry, Moses Kuria.
The agreement aims to put into effect the provisions of the 2014 Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the East African Community (EAC) Partner States.
It follows a decision made by the East African Community Heads of State Summit on February 27th, 2021.
According to a joint communique issued by CS Kuria and his EU counterpart, the Kenya-EU agreement will continue to be accessible to EAC member states.
"Kenya is one of our most important partners on the African continent. Today, we welcome taking our economic partnership to the next level. With this agreement, we
"We are establishing a deepened relationship between us and creating new opportunities for our businesses that will increase trade and investment," Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President and EU Commissioner for Trade, said on Monday.
According to Dombrovskis, with consideration for the different stages of development for the two countries, Kenya’s exports to the EU will be tariff-free from day one, while tariffs on EU exports will be liberalised over time and not on all products.
On the other hand, CS Kuria says the agreement, which provides duty-free-quota-free market access for exports and certainty in the trading regime, will enable the private sector to trade and invest with confidence and expand employment opportunities for Kenyan youth and support livelihoods.
"The agreement reflects our shared commitment to trade sustainably and create opportunities to integrate value-chains between Kenya