Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Kiprono Kittony and KEPSA chairman Vimal Shah. PHOTO | FILE |
What you need to know:
Efforts are already underway to ensure that Kenya can operate direct flights to the United States.
Kenya and the Unites States are set to extend their partnership through the formation of the Kenya - US Business Council that will seek to bridge the policy and market information gap between the two countries. The council will be formed through collaborative efforts by the Kenyan government, the private sector and the American Chamber of Commerce.
According to American Chamber of Commerce Vice President Myron Brilliant, the main impediment to investment in Kenya is the development of investor related policies, more so those that are linked to investor protection.
“We would also like to develop a US – Kenya business council. Currently, the US runs 15 business councils among them the US – India Business Council and the US-Mexico Business Council. The councils are meant to hold our governments accountable for making progress in the commercial relationships.” noted Mr Myron.
Efforts are already underway to ensure that Kenya can operate direct flights to the United States. The Federal Aviation Authority is set to conclude its report on the security status of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to determine if the security measures put in place are adequate.
KEPSA Chairman Vimal Shah says efforts are on-going to ensure that Kenya commences direct flights to the US by end 2015.
“For trade to thrive we need to address transport as a challenge. Direct flights make it easier for businesses to meet and do business. The challenge is however not limited to air travel, the cost of transporting goods is too high. For example it costs over US$4000 US to transport goods from Kenya to America because the volume of trade is too low, compare that to China which has a higher trade volume and the cost drop to US$600 US,” Vimal added.
Kenya National Chamber of Commerce Chairman Kiprono Kittony urged both government and the private sector to leverage on the newly developed diaspora policy to forge new links geared towards exploiting opportunities both in Kenya and America.
“The Kenya diaspora can act as a bridge between the two nations, we need to use them to not only market opportunities but also to bridge information gap between the two countries. There is a lot of misrepresentation from media and the internet that needs to be addressed to ensure that investors know that Kenya is a suitable investment destination” Mr Kiprono added.
The tourism sector which has also been hard hit by negative travel advisories urged the American chamber of commerce to lobby the American government to suspend the negative advisories.
“Direct flights will be key to growing the local tourism market; however the biggest problem we face is negative advisories. If these advisories are lifted, Kenya’s tourism sector will recover faster” Kenya Tourism Federation chair Lucy Karume Said.
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