A bilateral between the president William Ruto and his visiting Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella has mutually agreed for the remove non-tariff barriers in order to stimulate trade and investment between Nairobi and Mumbai.
The two countries said they will negotiate on the avoidance of a double-taxation agreement that will usher in higher levels of foreign direct investments.
Speaking at State House today on the first day of his four-days state visit, president Mattarella and his host said that they had shared views about opportunities to improve the balance of trade between the two countries.
The cooperation, he explained, will be in the areas of agro-industrial, ICT and bio-fuel projects.
“Our meeting provided us with the opportunity to discuss modalities of enhancing trade and investment between Kenya and Italy.” President Ruto said.
The two leaders witnessed the signing of two agreements, two MoUs and a joint declaration to provide a framework for advancement of bilateral cooperation in different fields.
“We have signed an MoU through which our two countries shall cooperate in the field of health, towards the realisation of Universal Health Coverage and improved pharmaceutical production.”
President Ruto explained that Kenya and Italy had further committed to re-establish cooperation on the construction of Arror, Kimwarer and Itare dams.
These projects, the two leaders noted, “are critical to our agenda on food security and climate action”.
During the meeting, Italy committed to advance Sh14billion in grants and soft loans covering projects in agriculture, MSMEs, housing and urban settlement, health, the digital super highway and creative economy.
President Mattarella noted that Kenya is a strategic partner in Africa that Italy will continue to work with.
“The agreements we have signed today are a sign of how far our relations are advancing. We will continue partnering to foster an investor-friendly environment,” he said.
The Sh63billion twin projects for the construction of the Arror and Kimwarer dams were halted following claims of graft.
In September last year, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Nordin Haji cited witness interference in the case.
The DPP told the anti-corruption court that his office had initiated investigation on claims of witness interference in the Arror and Kimwarer case.
He told the Chief Magistrate Lawrance Mugambi that there had been extensive interference with witnesses and an attempt to pervert justice in the prosecution of former National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich and other accused persons in the Arror and Kimwarer dams graft case.
Through Special Prosecutor Taib Ali Taib and Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (SADPP) Alexander Muteti, Haji said that the defense in the case was pushing witnesses to resign in the case in which former treasury CS Henry Rotich is prosecuted.
“We have prosecuted cases before, but I must say this, and with a heavy heart, that this is a difficult brief, not because of its complexity, but the dynamics that come with it,” claimed Muteti.
The former Treasury CS is accused of fraud of Sh63 billion in the scam involving the Arror and Kimwarer dams, and DPP Haji has expressed his regret over what he has called a “huge interference” of witnesses in the case.
Three years after the prosecution began, just one out of 40 witnesses has given a deposition; as a result, allegations of attempts to obstruct justice have surfaced. The DPP asserts that witnesses were discouraged from testifying, ostensibly in order to thwart the administration of justice.
Case against the newly Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Deputy governor Susan Jemtai Koech where she had been charged as suspect in the case was dropped after the DPP withdrew the case.
