Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi began his four-day visit to Africa to cement trade relations where he is expected to sign a number of bilateral agreements and memoranda with African countries.

Wang began his visit to Eritrea and the Comoros on January 4 and is expected to travel to Kenya where he is expected to meet with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Foreign Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo.

Wang’s visit will focus on how to promote and implement the results of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), held in Senegal in November 2021.

His visit to the three African countries follows in the tradition of Chinese foreign ministers of choosing Africa for their first overseas visit each year for the 32nd consecutive time, demonstrating the great importance that China attaches to Africa and the development of Sino-African relations.

Mr. Wang has been Minister of Foreign Affairs since March 2013 and State Councilor since March 2018.

The visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister marks the start of FOCAC’s new nine-point program of Chinese development cooperation, which holds great promise for China-Kenya and China-Africa companies.

Key areas that Wang hopes to address while in Kenya include peace and security, health, climate change and blue and green technology transfer, circular economy and other areas for transforming the world. economy of Kenya and the world economy in general.

“The Kenya Big Four program which left the signature legacy projects to President Uhuru Kenyatta has received significant support from China under previous FOCAC cooperation programs between Kenya and China, and this will be considered during bilateral conversations as well as discussions. with His Excellency the President, ”reads the Kenyan government press release.

President Kenyatta, who is also President of the United Nations Security Council, will meet with the Minister on relations with China at the African Peace and Security Council, the African Union and the Security Council of the UN, as well as on regional peace. and security concerns in the Horn of Africa.

Ms. Omamo will meet with Mr. Wang for bilateral consultations between the Government of Kenya and the Government of China. She will be accompanied by CS colleagues from the Ministries of the National Treasury, Transport and Housing, Health, Trade, ICT and Agriculture, as well as other government officials.

The delegation will travel to Mombasa and undertake an inspection visit of the Kipevu Kenya Oil Terminal (KOT) at Mombasa Port, a huge project inherited from the Kenyatta administration that has significant ramifications for Kenya as well as the entire region. from East and Central Africa.

In the project, Kenya seeks to double its capacity to process petroleum products in transit to Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, from January next year, up from the current 35,000 tonnes at a time.

The new oil terminal has the capacity to handle up to four vessels compared to the existing one, which can handle one vessel at a time.

The KOT is scheduled for a dry run test next month and is expected to lower the cost of petroleum products by reducing the cost of demurrage which contributes greatly to the high costs.

The new KOT is being built right in front of the second container terminal at the Port of Mombasa with the capacity to handle 200,000 Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) ships and a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) line that , according to the authorities, will stabilize the gas supply in the country.

Several bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding will be signed by key ministries between China and Kenya.