Security, ICT and agriculture top as South Korea leader to visit Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 26- Security, ICT and agriculture will top discussions, during South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s three days State visit to Kenya.
On security, South Korean Ambassador Young Dae Kwon says they will look at possible joint training programmes for Kenya’s security personnel in South Korea more so in fighting terrorism.
“Security talks will revolve around boarder control since we share common threats,” he said.
The South Korean leader is expected to arrive in the country on Monday next week; 34 years after a South Korean President visited Kenya. She will be accompanied by 150 government officials and over 100 investors.
President Park is set to meet her counterpart President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday at Nairobi State House, where they will proceed with bilateral talks.
“Korea leads in e-government issues and that is what we would like to happen in Kenya because this will help in general growth economically, promote transparency and efficiency,” Young stated.
Later on Tuesday, the South Korean President will host a business forum that will bring together investors from her country and Kenya.
Korean health and supplementary food projects will also be inaugurated in the country according to the envoy.
Kiambu County, he said will be a major beneficiary in the agricultural projects.
Among the demands she is set to make include asking Kenya to relax some of the regulations that Young says remain a major hurdle for Korean investors coming to the country.
“There are many rules and regulations and bureaucracies… we just want an enabling environment,” he said.
He said they expect the trade imbalance between Kenya and Korea to be reduced through increased trading.
“The two countries have improved transactions significantly when we look at figures. In 2006, for instance, exports from Kenya to Korea was valued Sh100 million ($5.5m) compared to Sh1.9 billion ($17.9m in 2015. Similarly imports to Kenya from Korea were valued at Sh16 billion ($164m) in 2009 compared to Sh25 billion ($253m) in 2014,” he said.
Some of the Korean companies set to be represented include Daewoo, Hyundai, LG and Samsung.
South Korea and Kenya, may be in a different continent, but share a similar history.
According to Young, In February 1964, Korea’s former president, Park Chung-hee (who is the current leader’s father) and Kenya’s first President, Jomo Kenyatta (Uhuru’s father) established diplomatic relations between Nairobi and Seoul.
“About 50 years later, Park Chung-hee’s daughter (Park Geun-hye) and Jomo Kenyatta’s son (Uhuru) are the presidents of their respective countries.”
Park will conclude her three-day visit to Kenya by going to the United Nations headquarters in Gigiri.

Great news Next week 150 + 100 Korean decision makers will land in Kenya together with their president for the first official visit to Africa in decades..... Hope deals will be signed

Angalia wasiambatane na wachakachuaji wa matokeo ya uchaguzi kama walokamatwa bongo.

KOREAN TIMES SEOUL :

m.koreatimes.co.kr/phone/news/view.jsp?req_newsidx=205530




President Park Geun-hye embarked on her maiden trip to Africa in her presidency Wednesday. President Park is scheduled to make stops in Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya. Of the three nations, the president’s visit to Nairobi will perhaps be the most interesting, owing to the coincidence it unveils.
Picture this. In February 1964, Korea’s former president, Park Chung-hee, and Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta, established diplomatic relations between Nairobi and Seoul. About 50 years later, Park Chung-hee’s daughter (Park Geun-hye) and Jomo Kenyatta’s son (Uhuru Kenyatta) are the presidents of their respective countries. If your guess is as good as mine, we can predict the context of their first light moments ― their fathers!

Beyond the coincidence, President Park’s visit to Kenya is significant. Kenya and Korea have progressively expanded their bilateral engagements, diplomatically and economically. Park’s visit is therefore a gesture that the two countries remain strategic partners five decades on.
In fact, Kenya and Korea share a history of supporting each other. It is said that Kenya aided Korea’s reconstruction by donating some funds after the 1950-53 Korean War.. According to some scholars, Kenya’s economy was better than Korea’s at the time.
On trade engagements, though still imbalanced in favor of Korea, the two countries have improved transactions significantly. In 2006, for instance, exports from Kenya to Korea was valued $5,573,000 compared to $17,979,000 in 2015. Similarly imports to Kenya from Korea were valued at $164,653,000 in 2009 compared to $253,951,620 in 2014.
On tourism, nearly 10,000 Korean tourists visited Kenya in 2012 when Korean Air launched direct flights from Seoul to Nairobi compared to 5,505 in 2006. Unfortunately, the three-day a week direct flights to Nairobi were suspended in 2014 due to the Ebola crisis impacting tourism considerably such only 3,434 had visited Kenya byNovember2015. Perhaps President Park’s visit will lead to some substantial review of the factors that can rebound economic exchanges, including reinstating Korean Air flights.
It will also be interesting to see the impact of President Park’s visit regarding her objective of expanding involvement Korean companies in Africa. When her predecessor, President Lee Myung-bak, visited Africa in July 2011, he noted the continent’s robust potential for growth urging Korea to play a great role. President Lee essentially referred to Africa as the "hope for the future of this planet." At the time, six of the 10 nations with the highest economic growth globally were in Africa.
Conceivably, President Park now has a core agenda in the name of “Korea Aid,” South Korea’s new official development assistance (ODA) program for health care support, food production and cultural related exchanges in Africa. On whether this will be effective or not depends on the approaches from launching to implementation of the related projects.
Personally, I have my reservation about the use of the phrase “Korea Aid.” My critique is on the word “aid” which has traditionally been used to represent a donor-recipient concept. The alternative, I would argue, is to use of the term “partners.” As I always suggest during my open lectures on Africa-Korea relations, the concept of partnership ought to be central in bilateral engagements because it characterizes shared values, mutual trust, and interdependence. You see, even our definition or the term we ascribe to things that matter often discloses our worldview, the overall perspective from which we see and interpret the world. Not a big deal?
Madam President, welcome to Nairobi ― a green city in the sun!
Benson Kamary is a professor at Tongmyong University

Haha...the coincidence.

KENYA AND ETHIOPIA SENT 3000 TROOOPS TO KOREAN WAR IN SUPPORT OF SOUTH KOREA IN THE 60'S

They fought alongside south Korean forces here is an excerpt from the Korean journal the museum that educates about war!!!



The American destroyers withdrew after bombarding Wolmido for an hour and
Rochester , Toledo , Jamaica, and Kenya proceeded to bombard the North Korean batteries for the next three hours from the south of the island. Lieutenant Clark and his South Korean squad watched from hills south of Incheon, plotting locations where North Korean machine guns were firing at the U.S. ships. They relayed this information to the invasion force via Japan in the afternoon

Welcome to East and central African economical power house.