Japan PM Fumio Kashida is anticipated to meet with President William Ruto to discuss economic collaboration, additionally they will celebrate 60 years of cooperation. Japan established diplomatic relations with Kenya shortly after Nairobi’s independence and set up an embassy in 1964. Kenya responded by setting up one in Tokyo in 1979.
Kishida will be the first Japanese Prime Minister to visit Kenya since 2016 when Shinzo Abe visited for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad).
At least 100 Japanese companies operate in Kenya today and Tokyo’s Oda supports a range of projects in Kenya including agriculture, energy, water sanitation, medical care and education. Japan has spent at least $2 billion on grants and technical cooperation on these projects even though Kenya also owes about $3 billion in loans to Japan.
The PM’s trip though has more significance on international scale. In Egypt, he spoke of the war in Ukraine and how the world should respond.
