Kenya shows interest in Jordan medical expertise, products

AMMAN — The Jordan Week held in Nairobi, Kenya, concluded on Saturday, with a wide participation of Jordanian industrial, agricultural and service sectors.

Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of State for Investment Affairs Jawad Anani inaugurated the event on Tuesday on behalf of His Majesty King Abdullah.

The last day witnessed the visit of Kenyan Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Samson Mwathethe and other senior officials, who expressed their appreciation and admiration of the showcased products, stressing the Kenyan private sector's need for economic partners to contribute significantly to the development process in the country, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

According to World Bank data, the blooming East African nation has a population estimated at 46.1 million. It has made significant structural and economic reforms that have contributed to sustained economic growth in the past decade. 

The latest Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) quarterly report shows that Kenya’s economy expanded by 6.2 per cent in the second quarter of this year compared with 5.9 per cent in the same period in 2015, almost double the GDP growth of Jordan estimated for this year. 

On the sidelines of the defence official’s visit to Jordan’s expo, Mwathethe met Jordan Investment Commission (JIC) President Thabet Elwir, and said that King Abdullah and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta have laid the foundation stone for a partnership cooperation that covers all sectors, with focus on the economic, commercial and investment aspects. 

Mwathethe called on officials at the medical services in the Kenyan army to benefit from Jordanian products in pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, urging cooperation with the army-run Royal Medical Services in the fields of training and treatment.

Elwir stressed the government’s keenness on enhancing economic cooperation with Nairobi, whose market is considered an important destination for Jordanian products.

The Kenyan economy will play a role for Jordan’s business community to expand its markets, especially since it is the fifth biggest in the southern African Grand Sahara, and a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Elwir noted. 

Meanwhile, Kenyan officials and businesspeople showed interest in Jordanian medical equipment, where a Jordanian delegation of sector representatives on Friday visited the Kenyan health ministry and discussed ways to develop cooperation.  

Kenya’s Health Minister Cleopa Mailu highlighted Nairobi’s interest to benefit from Jordan’s expertise in the medical sector, especially in the treatment of heart diseases, calling on officials at the ministry to speed up the process of know-how transfer, Petra reported.

He also said that Jordanian medicines are so popular in African markets, due to their good reputation and a quality that matches major international companies’ products. He called on Jordanian investors to establish projects in pharmaceuticals and medical industries in his country.

Elwir invited the Kenyan minister to visit Jordan in mid next year for further discussions on enhancing cooperation and investments, noting that there are good opportunities for both countries to benefit from in the medical sector.