By IANS,
Nairobi: Kenya has urged Japanese investors to take advantage of opportunities in the information and communication technology (ICT), energy and infrastructure sectors in the east African country.
Amina Mohamed, cabinet secretary for foreign affairs and international trade, said at the Kenya-Japan business forum in Nairobi that massive investments in these sectors have great potential to improve trade relations with Japan.
“Huge opportunities exist in the construction of an ICT city (Konza city), the first in east and central Africa, the Lamu port-South Sudan-Ethiopia (LAPSSET) project and the development in the energy sector,” Xinhua quoted Mohamed as saying.
She said these projects when completed will improve the lives of Kenyans and of the region as a whole.
Kenya is aiming to strengthen ties with Japan through increase in development support to strategic sectors, to boost trade and investment as well as to project its primary foreign policy agenda.
Kenya has been implementing reforms to make it easier for investors to do business in the country in order to make it more competitive to attract foreign investors.
However, the country has often been ranked lowly by the successive Doing Business Report released by the World Bank every year.
In the recent past, Japan has taken a keen interest in the varied investment opportunities in Africa. It encourages active engagement of the private sector to stimulate the creation of regional value chains, employment, and the exchange of technological know-how.
In 2011, Japan’s imports from Kenya was valued at $250 million against exports of $700 million.