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President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday held talks with Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State who advises the US President on foreign policy matters. It is the first meeting with select African leaders since Antony took office on 26th January 2021.
According to a statement released by the State House, the two discussed trade and investment opportunities between the two countries and the massive potential of the US-Kenya Free Trade Agreement signed in 2020 during the Trump Presidency.
The US official also discussed about areas for continued collaboration such as human rights, gender equality, multilateral cooperation, health, and climate change.
Kenya is a beneficiary of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allows certain Kenyan products to be exported to the US duty-free. The AGOA agreement is set to expire in 2025.
In 2019, US exported $401 million worth of goods into Kenya while Kenya exported $667 million of goods into the US according to data from the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
The US is a key partner to Kenya. In 2020, the global leader sent over $535 million in aid to Kenya and more than $23.3 million to help in the fight against the pandemic.
During the virtual bilateral talk attended by the Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo and the Head of Public Service Dr Joseph Kinyua, President Kenyatta restated Kenya’s commitment to strengthen ties with the United States.
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