KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY JAKAYA MRISHO KIKWETE, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA, AT THE KENYA - TANZANIA BUSINESS FORUM IN NAIROBI, KENYA, 6TH OCTOBER 2015

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY JAKAYA MRISHO KIKWETE, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF

TANZANIA, AT THE KENYA - TANZANIA BUSINESS

FORUM IN NAIROBI, KENYA,

6^TH OCTOBER 2015

Ladies and Gentlemen;

I thank you President Uhuru Kenyatta for including this meeting in my itinerary and for what you have just said emphasizing the importance of promoting business relations between our two countries. I thank Mr. Kiprono Kittony the Chairman of the Kenya Chamber of Commerce and Industry for organising this important forum.   It will surely go a long way towards strengthening the overall relations between our two countries.

Doing Business in Tanzania

Ladies and Gentlemen;

We are gathered here this morning to discuss issues of bread and butter: Kenya – Tanzania investment and business opportunities and relationships.  Honestly, I don’t know what to tell you about the business opportunities in Tanzania or the business environment in Tanzania because some of you, if not many, are already doing business in Tanzania.  Our records show that Kenya is the fifth largest investor in Tanzania and the leading in Africa followed by South Africa.  There are 518 investment projects from Kenya worth USD1,685.49 million, employing 55,762 Tanzanians.     

Manufacturing accounts for 45 percent of the total value of Kenya’s investment while real estate accounts for 13 percent, tourism 12 percent and transport and logistics 11 percent. The remaining 19 percent is distributed in small portions among other sectors.

With regard to trade between our two countries, records show that we have been doing very well. Kenya’s exports to Tanzania increased from USD 301.5 million in 2009 to USD 333.6 million in 2013. During the same period Tanzania’s exports increased from USD 179.3 million in 2009 to USD227.1 million in 2013. I am told at this level of trade volume that our two countries account for nearly 90 percent of intra East African trade. This demonstrates in empirical terms how much our two countries need each other and how significant we are in the East African integration agenda. 

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