Kenyan President William Ruto announced that Kenya will engage in a new round of trade negotiations with the US on Friday, 24 May 2024, during a visit to the US. These talks aim to promote new business agreements and to strengthen economic ties between the two nations.
Following the recent round of talks held in Washington this month, the US Trade Representative’s Office announced that it will hold talks under the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) from 3-7 June in Mombasa.
Ruto affirmed his commitment to forge new partnerships in technology, security, and debt relief for Kenya. Additionally, he highlighted Kenya’s efforts to attract large tech companies and startups through its “Silicon Savannah” initiative.
Ruto said that he had addressed Google’s concerns to streamline operations and outlined various tax and policy measures to attract direct foreign investment. On Friday, Alphabet’s President and Chief Investment Officer, Ruth Porat, announced that Google is increasing its investment in Kenya.
Earlier in the week, the US International Development Finance Corporation announced two significant loans to bolster electric vehicle initiatives in Kenya. This includes a USD 10 million loan to BasiGo and another USD 10 million loan to Roam Electric.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Kenya and Microsoft officially signed a partnership to construct a USD 1 billion, 1-gigawatt data center in Naivasha.
