Saturday, September 17, 2022 at 4:45 PM
Nairobi – The Republic of Kenya has adopted a new pro-business stance towards Morocco, the Kenyan economic newspaper “Business Today” pointed out.
In an analysis published on Saturday, following the decision of Kenyan President William Ruto to revoke the recognition of the pseudo “SADR” and to accelerate economic relations with Morocco, the Kenyan media recalls that President Ruto promised, there is one week, to lower the price of fertilizers from 6,100 Ksh (100 Ksh = 1 USD) to 3,600 Ksh.
To this end, the newspaper, which reports that 1.4 million bags of fertilizer will be imported mainly from Morocco, recalls that the OCP Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of phosphate fertilizers, with a third of the world market.
Last Monday, William Ruto, had promised to announce new prices for corn flour and fertilizers, noting that his “realpolitics” implies a rapprochement with Morocco in the decisive field of fertilizers, analyzes the author of the article , which recalls that an agreement in the same field between Morocco and Nigeria, signed in 2017, had made it possible to reduce the price of a bag of fertilizer from 5,000 Ksh to 1,700 Ksh.
On the other hand, the newspaper notes that Morocco is the eighth tea importer in the world with 200 million dollars, while Kenya is the third largest exporter with 1.2 billion dollars, which means that one sixth of Kenyan tea could go to Morocco alone.
Thanks to its South-South policy, the Kingdom of Morocco considers Kenya as an excellent nation with which it can establish mutual commercial cooperation, especially in the fields of agriculture, health and tourism, the media points out, noting that, according to experts, in the coming years Kenyan tea will be very present in Morocco.
“Over the past twenty years, Morocco has become the leading direct African investor in West Africa, contributing 4% to Cameroon’s GDP and 9% to that of its neighbor Senegal,” says the author. , recalling that in 2016, the IFC (International Finance Corporation) and the Moroccan banking group Attijariwafa Bank signed an agreement to support businesses and stimulate investment and cross-border trade in Africa.
Following the message of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to the new President of the Republic of Kenya, William Ruto, the Republic of Kenya has decided to revoke the recognition of the pseudo “SADR” and to begin the steps for the closure of its representation in Nairobi, we recall.
A joint communiqué, passages of which were made public on the website of the State House of the Republic of Kenya (State House), following the delivery on Wednesday of a message from HM the King to the Head of the Kenyan State, indicated “out of respect for the principle of territorial integrity and non-interference, Kenya gives its full support to the serious and credible autonomy plan proposed by the Kingdom of Morocco, as a unique solution based on territorial integrity of Morocco,” to resolve this dispute.
“Kenya supports the United Nations framework as the exclusive mechanism to achieve a lasting and permanent political solution to the dispute over the Sahara issue,” the joint statement stressed.
William Ruto expressed his willingness and commitment to work with the Sovereign to strengthen relations between the two countries, hailing the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI in promoting policies of tolerance and accommodation in the region of the Maghreb, as well as His contribution to world peace and security.
The two countries are committed to raising their bilateral diplomatic relations to the level of strategic partnership in the next 6 months, the statement said, adding that the Republic of Kenya is committed to opening its Embassy in Rabat.
Similarly, it was agreed to immediately accelerate economic, trade and social relations between the two countries, particularly in the areas of fishing and agriculture and food security (import of fertilizers).