Kaburu Mugambi
23 June 2009
Nairobi — Kenya will host the three-day African Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa) Forum in Nairobi from August 4.
The talks will be attended by senior US government officials and ministers from 38 African countries.
Agoa, a US law that provides duty-free access to 6,400 products from 38 elegible African countries, has improved trade ties between the US and Africa to reach the equivalent Sh6.8 billion last year.
The law was passed by Congress in 2000 and since has been amended and renewed.
Kenyan exports to the US have risen from Sh8.5 billion in 2000 to Sh20.5 billion in 2008, according to the government's Economic Survey 2009.
In a joint media briefing in Nairobi on Tuesday with Trade minister Amos Kimunya, US ambassador Michael Ranneberger said the forum would assess the successes of Agoa and look for trade and investment opportunities on both sides.
Expected
He said that US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton was expected to lead a 300-person delegation to the forum although she has not yet confirmed.
During the meeting at his office, Mr Kimunya said that the forum would chart new ways on how to take advantage of existing opportunities created by the Act.
He said the Agoa meeting would help the country to discuss and strengthen information exchange links between different countries.
"There has been a huge increase in petroleum products exports from oil-rich African countries but volumes of other products especially those from Kenya are increasing although not as fast," said the ambassador.
Kenya has overly relied on textiles, even though there are 6,400 items which qualify for duty-free entry into the US market under the law.
Mr Kimunya said Kenyans had high hopes that Delta Airline's direct flight between Nairobi and Atlanta in the US, which was cancelled at the last minute early this month would eventually take place.
Mr Ranneberger said the "Delta issue is complex" but said the airline was committed to fly to Kenya in the near future. He said that government of Kenya satisfied conditions but the cancellation decision was reached in Washington, DC.
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