Kenya and Jamaica are planning to introduce air transport connections between the two countries.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Jamaican Prime Minister, Andrew Holness said air transport between Kenya and the Caribbean will lead to more economic interaction which will in turn help economic growth for the people of both countries.
In their talks, the two leaders explored existing opportunities for cooperation in air transport with the saying that flights from the East Coast of Africa to Jamaica will help strengthen economic ties between Caribbean countries and the African continent.
“Our national carrier now has scheduled direct flights from Nairobi to New York but we would like to see flights flying from the East Coast to the West Coast of Africa and directly to Jamaica, and through Jamaica to the rest of the Caribbean as a true way of deepening our partnership,” said Kenyatta who is in Jamaica for a historic state visit.
During the bilateral talks, Kenya and Jamaica pledged to deepen bilateral and people-to-people ties for the benefit of the two countries.
The two leaders, who met at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kingston, witnessed the signing of four agreements among them MoUs on technical cooperation in tourism and in the fields of sports, culture and heritage as well as a framework of cooperation between the two governments and an MoU on political consultations.
Kenyatta said one sure way of deepening the partnership between Kenya and Jamaica is to encourage more trade and deepen commercial ties between the two countries.
“We need to deepen our trade because by so doing we also take our people-to-people relations to the next level. Kenya is today one of the largest and one of the most diversified economies on the African continent,” the President said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
He said Kenya serves as a hub for logistics and transport, financial services, ICT innovations, as he encouraged Jamaican investors to come to Kenya.
The two leaders also discussed ways of strengthening cooperation between Kenya and Jamaica in the blue economy which they said holds tremendous potential for wealth and job creation.
Kenyatta will be the chief guest at the 57th Jamaica Independence Day on Tuesday.
JK/abj/APA