President Uhuru Kenyatta has rallied Portuguese investors and captains of industry to make Nairobi the fulcrum of their business interests and investments in Africa.

He said Kenya’s immense commercial potential, in almost all sectors of the country’s expanding economy and the cosmopolitan configuration of her population, make Nairobi the ultimate destination for Portuguese investment.

“We are a melting pot where we welcome people from all parts of the world so long as they come in peace. So long as they come in the name of trading, working and working together, we welcome people.

“I was reminded that Nairobi has been voted as the best city for expatriates to live, and find accommodation. You can make your base for your African operations out of Kenya and we are more than willing to work and support you in that endeavour,” he said.

The President spoke on Wednesday in Lisbon when he joined his Portuguese host Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at the official opening of the Kenya-Portugal Business Forum on the last day of his two-day state visit to the Portuguese Republic.

Bilateral ties

At the meeting, also attended by Foreign Affairs CS Raychelle Omamo and his Tourism counterpart Najib Balala, the President regretted that despite the two countries having a long history of bilateral ties, the volume of trade flow between Nairobi and Lisbon remained low.

“I do believe there is still much scope for deeper bilateral works between our two countries. We seek to deepen that because it is unfortunate for two countries with such strong trading and private sector base are only dealing with very minimal amounts. The trade between our two countries, the investment between our two countries is very minimal in comparison with the opportunity that exists,” he said.

President Kenyatta encouraged Portuguese investors to consider tapping into the country’s thriving ICT, health and infrastructure sectors.

“You have wide experience, especially in the infrastructure, healthcare and ICT sectors. And I do believe we can do a lot more together. We have very strong ICT credentials,” he said.