Kenya and Saudi Arabia chambers of commerce have signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve the balance of trade between the two countries.

This is after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) engaged with Saudi Arabia officials on bilateral relations between Kenya and Saudi Arabia.

The meeting first session of the Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) between the countries ended in Riyadh on Friday.  Senior officials from the two countries met to deliberate on salient areas of interest in socio-economic development that are key to both countries, according to a despatch from Riyadh.

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo who led the Kenyan delegation for the meeting said the JCC framework sets the stage for deeper cooperation and reaffirms the close and robust relations between the two countries.

“I believe that this milestone is a manifestation of the fortitude that our countries and people have to deepen and reinforce,” she said.

Richard Ngatia, KNCCI president  disclosed that the chamber negotiated trade opportunities with the Federations Council of Saudi Chambers (FCSC) which will see Saudi Arabia will employ at least 100,000 Kenyan youths on the sidelines of the JCC meeting.

Business forum

The business forum convened of government officials, business leaders, industry regulators and business associations to engage in bilateral trade conversations under the theme, ‘Enhancing Trade and Investment Potential between Kenya and Saudi Arabia.’ During the event, I executed a historic MoU between KNCCI and FCSC under my counterpart Secretary-General Hussain Alabdulkader,” he said.

The MoU was executed at the Saudi Arabia – Kenya Business Forum at the Council of Saudi Chambers on Monday. The MoU, Ngatia added, will ensure the chambers facilitate trade information, services and opportunities to improve the balance of trade. He said Kenyans need to seize opportunities in the region through the help of the chamber to seize the opportunities in Saudi Arabia for direct employment and importation of commodities like bitumen.