French President welcomed in Kenya with military pomp

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Nairobi, Kenya, March 14 (Infosplusgabon) - Visiting French President Emmanuel Macron, was given a lavish state welcome at the start of his two-day visit to Kenya on Wednesday, where he vowed to increase the French influence and partner with Kenya to advance science.

 

 

The French President arrived in Nairobi on Wednesday from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, where he was welcomed with a 21-gun salute, by international dignitaries and heads of state with friendly ties to Kenya.

 

The French President later inspected a guard of honour mounted by a regiment of the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) and was treated to a march-past by the regiment to finalise the elaborate welcome ceremony at the State House Nairobi.

 

“This is a good day for Kenya,” President Uhuru Kenyatta remarked at State House after holding a bilateral meeting with the French President.

 

The two leaders later unveiled a new model of Peugeot 3008, a 1600 cc capacity engine SUV vehicle, which is deemed to be a high performing vehicle with less carbon emission, to mark the start of a renewed friendship with the Kenyan government.

 

President Kenyatta and the visiting French President took a ride in the newly-launched vehicle. The two headed to the Kenya Railways yard in central Nairobi. The French government is planning to invest in the remodeling of the railway station.

 

France plans to help Kenya to create a metropolis railway system, linking the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to the newly-built railway station in the outskirts of Nairobi and linking it to a railway network to ease traffic movement from Nairobi.

 

President Kenyatta said the two countries would strengthen mutual cooperation. He said France was an important source of tourists coming to Kenya and mutual cooperation would likely increase the number of French tourists visiting Kenya.

The newly launched Peugeot 3008, one of the models locally assembled in Kenya by French vehicle manufacturer, PSA Groupe, in a move geared towards boosting Kenya’s manufacturing sector.

 

President Kenyatta issued an executive order to all state entities to henceforth buy vehicles locally manufactured in Kenya to boost the local assembly.

 

“This policy directive is intended to promote our agenda on manufacturing, creating good jobs for our people, and enhancing technology transfer to our country,” President Kenyatta said.

 

The President emphasized that as part of his administration’s efforts to build a better Kenya with shared prosperity for all under the Big 4 Agenda, manufacturing has been prioritized as one of the critical sectors for wealth and employment creation.

 

“As part of our agenda to promote manufacturing, my administration is prioritizing motor vehicle assembly and manufacturing of spare parts,” President Kenyatta said.

 

The PSA Groupe, the second largest car manufacturer in Europe, was encouraged to set up their assembly plant in Kenya to tap into the local market.

 

The French auto-assembling plant hopes to produce 1,000 vehicles every year and with additional investments in April and Sept. it would be producing 15,000 cars assembled in Kenya for local use and for regional exports.

 

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/POE/GABON2019

 

 

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