The coming three-day state visit to Kenya by Chinese President Hu Jintao late this week marks the culmination of efforts to strengthen ties between the two countries, said a statement issued Monday by Kenyan Presidential Press Service.

 

"The visit by His Excellency President Hu Jintao of the People's Republic of China is part of a wide range of efforts that have been going in the last three years aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between Kenya and China," the statement said.

 

Over the past three years, Kenya has dispatched several delegations to China and has hosted several senior delegations from China. During the exchange of visits, important documents on bilateral relations have been signed, it said.

 

The two countries also signed important agreements aimed at strengthening relations and opening a new chapter of strategic trade and investments relations during the state visit by Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki to China in last August, according to the statement.

 

One of these agreements is the Framework Agreement on Provision of Concessional Loan by China to Kenya, under which China would extend to Kenya a grant of 600 million Kenyan shillings (about US$8.3 million) and a concessional loan of approximately 2 billion Kenyan shillings (about US$27.8 million) in support of development projects of Kenya.

 

"The government's keen focus on the Far East, and especially China, is based on the realization that the region offers vast economic opportunities. China alone has a population of 1.3 billion people, which translates into a massive market for Kenya's goods and services," said the statement.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 25, 2006)