This archive report was first published on 12 December 2019.
Kenyan financial sector representatives are set to visit Barbados in the next two weeks to explore business opportunities in the Caribbean. The visit is part of several agreements reached after discussions between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados to deepen business ties between Kenya and the Caribbean nation.
According to Prime Minister Mottley, having Kenyan financial firms operating in Barbados will act as an anchor for Kenyan businesses that can then use the country as a hub to trade in the wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region.
"When Kenyan banks and financial institutions get a foothold in Barbados and the Caribbean, Kenyan businesses will have familiar faces to deal with," said Prime Minister Mottley during a reception at State House, Nairobi, hosted by President Uhuru and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta in honour of the Barbados leader's state visit.
The delegation is expected to include the Central Bank of Kenya and representatives of the Nairobi Securities Exchange among others. Prime Minister Mottley also revealed that government officials from the two countries have been having constant working interactions since President Uhuru's state visit to Barbados in August this year.
She noted that exchange programs between schools and universities that were part of agreements signed earlier during her bilateral talks with President Uhuru will increase the people-to-people interactions between Kenya and Barbados.
President Uhuru said Prime Minister Mottley's visit will go a long way in bringing Kenya and Barbados closer in trade and culture. He also said the two nations have agreed to forge closer ties in banking and finance, health and education, ICT, and renewable energy.
Kenya and Barbados are both leaders in promoting integration in their respective regions and will use their positions to bring Africa and the people of the Caribbean closer to each other.
