CS Trade Lee Kinyanjui inaugurates Symposium on Free Trade Agreements within Regional Economic Communities (RECs)

The Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry, Lee Kinyanjui  inaugurated the Symposium on Third Party Free Trade Agreements (FTA) within Regional Economic Communities (Recs) in Nairobi.

The symposium brought together trade and policy experts, representatives from private sector organizations, academic and research institutions, senior government officials from MDAs for discussions centred on regional integration, external partnerships and their implications for third party FTAs within RECs.

Speaking at the meeting, the Cabinet Secretary underscored Kenya’s commitment to deepening regional integration within the East Africa Community (EAC) and Africa while pursuing strategic economic partnership agreements that best serve the country's national interests.

The CS Kinyanjui stated that third party FTA's offer new market access, attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), facilitate technology transfer and promote economic diversification.

The CS however underscored the need to balance regional cohesion and global partnerships.He observed that the symposium will help identify practical strategies to effectively manage the FTAs while reinforcing regional integration.

Principal Secretary for Trade Regina Ombam echoed the CS Kinyanjui's sentiments and hailed the symposium as a platform to analyse past experiences, discuss on-going developments and formulate informed trade and investment policies.