Moses Kuria Condemns Egypt, Sides With Museveni in Trade Row

Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria, on Friday, November 25, denounced Egypt over what he termed as unfair treatment of Kenya in trade relations. 

Kuria claimed that Egyptian authorities were unjust to Kenya due to their sustained subsidy policy put in place to help companies. 

The subsidies, according to the CS,  have far-reaching consequences which clamp down on businesses in Kenya and the region by extension. 

He added that the exemption from excise duty, a condition set by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) trade protocols, aggravated the matter.

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta (centre left) and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi (centre right) meeting on Sunday 4 October 2020.

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“It is unfair for Egypt to continue subsidising their companies that are exporting duty-free to the COMESA region,” Kuria stated on his social media pages. 

Henceforth, he vowed to push for the imposition of excise duty on Egyptian products and join hands with Kenya’s neighbour, Uganda, in voicing reservations about the protocols during an upcoming meeting in Lusaka, Zambia. 

“Kenya will join Uganda in imposing Excise duties on such products. We will jointly raise this issue during the COMESA Trade Ministers Meeting in Lusaka next week,” he added. 

Egypt is among the biggest economies in the regional trade bloc, bringing together 21 nations in Eastern and Southern Africa. 

In 2021, the North African nation accounted for the lion’s share of trade values in terms of exports to COMESA nations. 

According to Egypt Independent, the value of Egyptian imports from COMESA members amounted to Ksh110 billion in the first nine months of 2021. 

Since his appointment, CS Kuria has been vocal about reducing the trade imbalance between Kenya and its trade partners. 

The CS embarked on an objective to enhance manufacturing in Kenya as one of the ways to reduce the gap between Kenya’s exports and imports. 

Moses Kuria during the launch of Green Triangle Cement at Athi River

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