Kenya,Egypt expand cooperation on water, energy and pharmaceuticals
NAIF RASHID-KNA
Kenya and Egypt have agreed to elevate their longstanding relations, with fresh commitments to expand cooperation in key sectors including trade, energy, water security, and regional stability.
Speaking during a joint media briefing at the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs headquarters in Nairobi, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi emphasized that Kenya values its long-standing and historic relationship with the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Mudavadi welcomed his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, noting that diplomatic relations between the two countries date back to 1964 and have steadily expanded across political, economic, defense and social sectors.
He recalled the January 2025 State Visit to Cairo by President William Ruto, during which Kenya and Egypt elevated their ties to a Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
During that visit, the two governments signed 12 bilateral agreements covering trade and investment, education, ICT, maritime affairs, space cooperation, housing, governance, youth empowerment and sustainable development.
“I commend the progress made by our respective ministries in establishing sectoral working groups to spearhead implementation,” expressed Mudavadi, adding that a mid-term review is planned to assess progress and refine priorities ahead of a proposed State Visit by President el-Sisi to Kenya later this year.
On trade and investment, the Prime CS emphasized the need to create an enabling environment for businesses and fasttrack the establishment of a Kenya–Egypt Joint Business Council.
“We encourage our private sectors to leverage synergies, diversify trade products and address trade facilitation inefficiencies to unlock economic resilience and shared prosperity,” he urged.
On his part, the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty described Kenya as his ‘second home’ and hailed the bilateral relationship as a model of African fraternity and cooperation.
He also disclosed that President el-Sisi personally oversees efforts to expand ties beyond politics into trade, culture and investment.
“The volume of trade between our two countries reached approximately $567 million in 2024. This is not enough for the capabilities of Kenya and Egypt. We would like to double this trade volume in the coming years,” stated Abdelatty.