The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) CEO, Ms. Carole Kariuki joined H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta and first lady H.E. Margaret Kenyatta in a state banquet hosted in honour of the visiting Hungarian President H.E János Áder and his spouse H.E Anita Herczegh at State House on the evening of 17^th January 2022.

At the banquet, also attended by KEPSA Chair, Ms. Flora Mutahi, former Chair Mr. Nik Nesbitt, KEPSA Advisor Mr. John Ngumi, diplomats, government and political leaders, President Kenyatta hailed the strong bilateral ties between Kenya and Hungary saying the relationship is driven largely by economic cooperation, trade and investments. President Kenyatta said Kenya was counting on the support of Hungary to unlock the economic partnership agreement between the East African Community and the European Union.

At the same time, President Kenyatta regretted the low volumes of trade and investment flow between Nairobi and Budapest over the last five decades despite the existing huge commercial potential.

“To address the low trade volumes, we have to intensify efforts to promote greater linkages and networks between the private sector and business communities in the two countries; and encourage them to take advantage of the economic opportunities existing in our respective countries,” he said.

In his address, the Hungarian President commended the Kenyan Government for its commitment to improving the lives of Kenyans through transformational development programmes, and expressed optimism that the current development tempo will continue beyond President Kenyatta’s term.

Earlier in the day, Kenya and Hungary had signed four bilateral agreements for cooperation in;

1. Health – Covering human resource capacity building, information sharing and prevention of diseases including Covid-19.
2. Education – The pact on education will double the number of Kenyans receiving Hungarian government scholarships from the current 100 to 200 annually.
3. Water – The agreement on water covers wastewater management among other related aspects.
4. Diplomacy – The two presidents also signed an MOU on diplomatic training and information exchange that will see the two countries collaborate in the training of diplomats.

Hungary is one of Kenya’s strongest bilateral partners in Europe and the sixth foreign nation to set up diplomatic presence in Kenya in 1964.