Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, during his three-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) saw the signing of an agreement between both countries. The agreement covers areas in trade, transport, and security.

“As we move towards deeper integration not only of our region but continent, we should be able to ease the restrictions in terms of visas and other issues, and I look forward to engaging with you so that we can make it easier,” said Uhuru Kenyatta.

This agreement is being signed while there is a gap in terms of import and export between both countries per mirror data from statistics produced by the International Trade Centre.

The bilateral air service agreement and a maritime freight management agreement initiated between the two countries are falling short of their expectations. Measures other than customs tariffs are firm and thus act as a barrier to trade between both countries.

Also, Kenya is facing tough competition coming from Tanzania’s Port of Dar es Salaam which serves landlocked countries (including Malawi, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda) in this crucial pandemic moment.

According to a study by the East African Business Council, in collaboration with the German cooperation, DRC has great market opportunities for SMEs in the region, and also the potential for trade is still very much at its raw stage.

Solange Che