It is not common to hear African countries donating land to each other. They would rather give the lands to America, Europe, and Asia who end up using it for military bases.
Well, in this regard, Kenya has begged to differ. The East African country has set aside 10-acres of land for South Sudan to build a dry port at the Inland Container Depot in Naivasha.
According to Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, the dry port will enable ease of movement of goods to be exported to South Sudan.
What this means is that South Sudan will have a dedicated dry port in Kenya where goods destined for Juba can be stored before they are transported. South Sudan will not only have an embassy in Kenya but also a port, this is good news for Africa.
The announcement of the donation was made by President Uhuru Kenyatta himself yesterday in presence of South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit - who is in the country on a two-day state visit.
President Kenyatta, while hosting his counterpart, President Salva Kiir said:
“The Kenya government has responded to the request of South Sudan to set aside 10 acres of land at the Inland Container Depot in Naivasha industrial park, to ease the movement of goods destined to South Sudan.”
This is not the first time President Kenyatta is offering land to a neighboring country.
Earlier this year in March, President Kenyatta offered land to Uganda. The purpose of the land was to build a dry port for its cargo as part of the joint Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project between the two countries.
President Kenyatta also announced that Kenya will hold a trade expo in South Sudan in November this year, as part of measures aimed at restoring confidence that South Sudan is open for business.
The President said the proposal is in line with the prevailing peace and stability following the signing of the revitalized agreement on the resolution of the conflict in the country that was signed in 2018.
“The expo, we believe, will reignite our trade and commerce cooperation and send a very powerful signal that indeed South Sudan is open for business, there exists a huge trade potential between our two countries,” he said.
Kenyatta further reaffirmed his commitment to supporting South Sudan’s peace efforts.
The issue of peace in South Sudan has been a major concern to President Kenyatta, who has been at the forefront in attempts to find a lasting solution to the instability in the East African country.
On his part, Salva Kiir said that Kenya remains a key partner in the economic development and that they will continue engaging on development and political issues.
“The visit has been a great opportunity that enabled us to explore comprehensive bilateral cooperation and take a step of concrete measures that will enhance bilateral relations in different fields, and going forward South Sudan and Kenya shall be exchanging views from time to time on issues of mutual interest,” he said, “South Sudan remains grateful to the government of Kenya.”
Header Image Credit: The Standard