STATEMENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON UHURU KENYATTA, CGH, PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES OF THE

REPUBLIC OF KENYA OCCASION: ARAB-AFRICAN SUMMIT VENUE: KUWAIT DATE: NOVEMBER 19 2012 Your Royal Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Al Jaber Al Sabah, Your Excellency Prime Minister Halemariam SummitMa$esties, Your Highnesses Your Excellencies Your Excellency !ommission Your Excellency r %ko&ana lamini 'uma !hair"erson o# the A#rica (nion esaleign !o-!hair"erson o# the

r %abil Al Araby

istinguished Partici"ants, )adies and *entlemen, )et me begin by con+eying our condolences to the *o+ernment and the "eo"le o# )ebanon #ollo,ing the shameless terrorist attack- .e in /enya understand your "ain and stand in solidarity ,ith you0t gi+es me s"ecial "leasure to $oin you at this Summit- 0 am delighted to see all o# you gathered here, "re"ared to mo+e the Arab- A#rican agenda #urther ahead-0 also thank His Royal Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al Jaber Al-Sabah #or hosting this Summit, and #or extending such generosity, ,armth and grace to me and my delegation- .e are all touched by your hos"itality.ithout a doubt, Arab-A#rican relations are #ounded on unbreakable bonds and the most immutable circumstances- .e share a common geogra"hy and history o+er t,o continents and ha+e "ursued similar as"irations and goals collecti+ely and indi+idually o+er many years- 1he #ounders o# the Arab -A#rican "artnershi" resol+ed to ,ork together to,ards those shared goals, and committed themsel+es to a +ision o# brotherhood and solidarity1he realisation that our res"ecti+e $ourneys to,ards "ros"erity share the same roads is the #oundation o# our "artnershi"Excellencies,

)adies and *entlemen, 1he $ourney ,e ha+e tra+elled so #ar has been #ruit#ul, and o##ers e+en greater "romise going #or,ard- .e ha+e had occasion to rea##irm our commitments and consolidate our mutual resol+e1he #rame,ork o# our engagement - that o# mutually bene#icial "artnershi"s and collaborations, as o""osed to de"endency and "atronage - has #orged a ne, #ormat o# relations bet,een "eo"les and nations- 0t has also achie+ed se+eral notable successes- 2ur solidarity and brotherhood has gone #ar in setting the agenda o# regional, international, bilateral and multilateral engagements1o begin ,ith, stronger relations, im"ro+ed coo"eration and the establishment o# strategic bilateral relations bet,een A#rican and Arab nations has led to bene#its on both sides- 1hese bene#its are +isible "olitical and economic achie+ements ,hich are connected directly to our "artnershi"sArab and A#rican countries are the e"icentre o# emerging economies ,hich are ex"anding, industrialising and modernising at un"recedented s"eeds1here is "lenty o# kno,ledge and ex"erience to be shared bet,een and among "artnering nations- Addressing common challenges is getting easier e+ery moment- Restoring and maintaining "eace and stability in #ragile regions is no, more #easible and sustainable2ur common stand on regional and international issues o# "articular im"ortance has become in#luential- As a result, the o+erall stature o# Arab and A#rican nations and regions continues to gro,- E+ery "assing day, our $ourney gets more exciting and re,ardingExcellencies, )adies and *entlemen, Allo, me to share a ,ell kno,n "ro+erb3 i# you ,ant to go #ast, ,alk alone4 but i# you ,ant to go #ar, ,alk together- 5ecause o# sharing kno,ledge and ex"erience, building common strategies and ,orking together, ,e are going #ar- 0solation de"ri+es "eo"le and nations o# use#ul "ers"ecti+es, kno,ledge and leads to ,astage and du"lication o# much-needed strength!hances o# mo+ing s"eedily in the ,rong, or the most gruelling and "erilous directions are increased by relati+e insularityExcellencies, )adies and *entlemen, /enya has bene#itted much and gro,n in +arious s"heres as a result o# the

Arab-A#rican "artnershi"6uite recently, ,hen ,e ,ere attacked by terrorists, much a""reciated solidarity, sym"athy, emergency and medical assistance arri+ed ex"editiously to relie+e us o# the agony o# bearing tragedy- 1he messages o# solidarity ,e recei+ed #rom many Arab nations ha+e touched many /enyan and A#rican hearts1he Joint Arab-A#rican 7und #or isaster Res"onse goes a long ,ay in mitigating the +ulnerabilities occasioned by +arious elemental "henomena and negati+e #orcesSimilarly, /enya recently disco+ered economically +iable reser+es o# natural resources- Among them are underground #resh ,ater, coal, oil and natural gas- 0t is our not our ,ish to rein+ent the ,heelRather, ,e intend to borro, much and rely hea+ily on the brotherly generosity o# Arab nations to get the kno,ledge and technology to conduct cost-e##ecti+e ex"loration and extraction o# these resources- .e are already reaching out to +arious Arab states to encourage their "ri+ate in+estors to consider the o""ortunities in /enya in the oil, natural gas and energy subsectorsAs ,e arrange to ex"loit these natural resources, /enya has also reached out to Arab nations to strengthen the su""ly o# crude oil and li8ue#ied "etroleum gas- Energy is a critical com"onent o# commodity "rices and the cost o# li+ing- A key "illar o# our economic management is "rudent inter+ention to bring and maintain these costs to a sustainable le+el%aturally, the #rame,ork o# Arab -A#rican brotherhood o##ers us the best o""ortunity to #acilitate a key economic ad+antage- /enya also aims to become #ood secure in the next #i+e years- 5eyond that, ,e intend to become a regional and continental bread basket in ten years- )o, #ood "rices and ex"ort ca"acity ,ill im"ro+e incomes and demand #or other industrial goods, a+ail cash #or in+estment and generate #oreign exchangePartnershi" ,ith Arab nations in agriculture ,ill enable us achie+e these bene#its7urthermore, /enya su""orts initiati+es aimed at mitigating climate change and restoring the natural en+ironment- 1his is im"erati+e #or the sustainability o# +arious economic acti+ities, including agriculture, ex"loitation o# natural resources and generation o# rene,able energyArab-A#rican "artnershi"s in this regard ,ill be hel"#ul in designing and im"lementing sustainable strategies in this im"ortant area- Additionally, /enya has embarked on the im"ro+ement and ex"ansion o# in#rastructure

to under"in ra"id economic gro,th- 9arious sectors are in need o# substantial in#rastructural in+estment, including the energy, trans"ort and communications and the agro-industry.e are "resently engaged in large-scale, ca"ital-intensi+e regional in#rastructure initiati+es that demand strategic "artnershi"s- 0 am certain that the "ri+ate sector in+estors in Arab and A#rican countries can collaborate to take ad+antage o# these o""ortunitiesExcellencies, )adies and *entlemen, /enya maintains a strong "eace-building and "eace-kee"ing tradition0n :;;:, ,e contributed troo"s to the (nited %ations 0ra8-/u,ait 2bser+er Mission <(%0/2M=- Similarly, ,e ,ere dee"ly in+ol+ed in di"lomatic and "olitical e##orts to end the ci+il ,ar in the Sudan and mid,i#e the Re"ublic o# South Sudan- At the moment, ,e continue intensi+e military, di"lomatic and "olitical e##orts to ease Somalia into a "ost-con#lict, reconstructionready territory0 am ha""y to re"ort, Your Excellencies, that these e##orts are bearing #ruit-

Anti-terrorism initiati+es continue to demand a lot o# /enya>s attention and resources- .e are ,holly committed to the e##ort, and are grate#ul #or the many Arab and A#rican nations ,ho ha+e stood, and indeed, continue to stand ,ith /enya in its anti-terrorism e##ortExcellencies, )adies and *entlemen, As earlier stated, the $oint Arab-A#rican stand on issues o# international signi#icance is increasing in "olitical and di"lomatic in#luence- /enya remains a "roud su""orter o# Palestine in its a""lication #or #ull membershi" o# the (nited %ations- 0n ?@:?, /enya +oted in #a+our o# Palestinian membershi" o# the *eneral Assembly/enya also +oted in su""ort o# Palestine>s #ull membershi" o# the (nited %ations Educational, Scienti#ic and !ultural 2rganisation <(%ES!2=- .e look #or,ard to the #ruition o# the Palestinian cause and, in "articular, o# their desire #or an 0nde"endent StateExcellencies, )adies and *entlemen,

All the sub$ects 0 ha+e s"oken about not only demonstrate the bene#its o# Arab-A#rican bonds o# solidarity and brotherhood- 1hey also re"resent immense and historical o""ortunities in the economic and di"lomatic #ields0t testi#ies to the ,isdom and necessity o# "artnershi" #or our nations and "eo"les- 1he Arab-A#rican collecti+e is much greater than the sum o# its "arts0ndi+idually, our nations #ace +arious challenges o# considerable magnitude2ur critical commitments - "o,ering de+elo"ment, #eeding our "eo"le and relie+ing them #rom ,ant, kee"ing our regions and nations "eace#ul and stable, conser+ing our natural heritage - become o""ortunities #or great accom"lishments i# ,e a""roach them in the s"irit o# ,in-,in "artnershi"7or these reasons, /enya is committed to the #rame,ork o# the Arab-A#rican Partnershi" and the regional and bilateral coo"eration initiati+es under it, as ,ell as the Joint A#rican-Arab Action Plan, ?@::-?@:A- .e look #or,ard to a dee"ening o# relations and strengthening o# bonds among and bet,een the nations re"resented in the "artnershi", the accom"lishment o# our initiati+es, and the realisation o# our collecti+e and national desiresAs 0 conclude, 0 look #or,ard to a #ruit#ul Summit and ,ish Your Excellencies a ha""y stay in /u,ait- May you return home sa#ely, and ,ith o+er#lo,ing basket#uls o# the #ruits o# Arab-A#rican solidarity and brotherhood0n conclusion, on behal# o# the "eo"le o# /enya, 0 ,ould like to con+ey our condolences to His Highness 1he Amir and the "eo"le o# /u,ait on the demise o# r Abdulrahman Al-Sumait, ,ho ,as as much /enyan as /u,aitiHe ser+ed our "eo"le ,ith commitment, diligence and understanding #or o+er B@ years0n that time, he contributed immensely to our e##orts to educate and care #or our "eo"le- .e are grate#ul and ,ill al,ays remember his ,onder#ul ,ork and good nature- May the Almighty rest him in Janah7inally, 0 thank Your Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah #or hosting us at this "leasant city, and through him, the #riendly "eo"le o# /u,ait #or their ,armth, good,ill and hos"italityYour Ma$esties Highness Excellencies 0 thank you