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President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in Moyale in Marsabit County on Wednesday for the opening of the single border post.
Mr. Ahmed inspected an honor guard mounted by the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF), after which he toured the facility together with his host, Mr. Kenyatta.
The one-stop border post, under construction along the Ethiopian-Kenyan border in the Moyale area, is being built alongside the 502-kilometer Hawassa-Moyale highway project in Ethiopia, which is part of a further plan. wide for a Mombasa-Nairobi-Addis Ababa. road corridor.
Ahmed said that the inauguration of the position is a clear demonstration of the commitment of both countries to more trade.
“By aligning working days and hours, procedures and formalities, as well as by developing and sharing common facilities and joint controls, the border post will reduce the time and costs incurred to clear the property at both borders.” said.
“Bringing together the essential business services of both countries, tax and customs authorities, immigration, security, trade and many other services under one roof demonstrates the ability to enable economic transformation,” added Prime Minister Ahmed.
Border conflicts, Lapsset
Mr. Ahmed’s tour is significant, and the visit is expected to focus on the shared border between the two countries and the Port Lamu-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (Lapsset) corridor.
The border post was expected to be put into service last year after construction was completed in 2018 at a cost of more than 800 million shillings, but due to tensions at the border this came under pressure.
The perennial conflicts in the area are one of the important talking points the two leaders are expected to focus on in their meetings.
The border between Ethiopia and Kenya stretches for more than 830 kilometers, making the official border point in Moyale a significant contribution to boosting trade between the two countries.
Following the visit to the border post, President Kenyatta and Prime Minister Ahmed will visit Lamu County to inspect the ongoing construction of the new Lamu Port, an anchor project of the Lapsset infrastructure company.
Launched in 2012, Lapsset will also include an oil pipeline that will run from the Kenyan port of Lamu to Addis Ababa, among other important infrastructure projects aimed at improving connectivity and boosting bilateral trade in the region.
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Kenya and Ethiopia signed a preferential access agreement aimed at fostering economic cooperation in 2012, with an emphasis on trade, investment, infrastructure, food security and sustainable livelihoods.
The two countries also established the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) in charge of promoting bilateral relations, in addition to more than 30 agreements and memoranda of understanding that cover almost all economic, social and political spheres, including security, defense and trade. , the movement of people, transportation and culture.
Equity Bank’s entry into the Ethiopian market last year, four years after KCB became the first Kenyan bank to open a representative office in Addis Ababa, is also seen as a huge boost for Kenyans seeking the huge market. .
Kenyatta visited Ethiopia in March 2019, and his host flew him to the city of Hawassa to tour the city’s industrial park, where 22 leading textile and apparel manufacturers currently operate, employing 25,000 employees.
