The newly appointed United Kingdom High Commissioner to Kenya Mr. Neil Wigan OBE Tuesday afternoon paid a courtesy call to the Kericho County Governor Dr. Eric Mutai and held bilateral talks on strategic partnership for mutual benefit.
On his first visit to Rift Valley, the British High Commissioner to Kenya focused on UK partnership in people to people ties, empowering women and girls, and job creation to improve lives of residents and boost sustainable development
The diplomat said that the UK was willing to deliver easy access to scholarship opportunities to students in Kericho and deployment of skilled workforce to UK companies in a bid to reduce joblessness among the youth in Kericho County.
“We want to build a better future together particularly the economic potential that there is here, so I came to see how the British investors can play a part in that,” said Wigan.
The Strategic Partnership between the UK and Kenya tackles climate change, increasing mutual prosperity and sustainable development, building stronger people to people links, and strengthening vital security cooperation.
At the same time, Kericho County Governor Dr. Eric Mutai said the UK-Kenya strategic partnership extends far beyond Nairobi, with vital trading links bringing mutual benefit to both countries.
According to the governor, Kericho and the United Kingdom(UK) share a rich history of friendship bound by investments and a colonial past expressing hope that partnership in areas of academic scholarships, improvement of educational infrastructure and direct developments, would not only strengthen the ties but also enhance the livelihoods of Kericho residents.
“We also discussed working opportunities for our people especially health professionals and onboarding investors to the proposed aggregation and Industrial Park at Kapsorok,” said Dr. Mutai.
The United Kingdom is one of the largest international investors in Kenya and is Kenya’s fifth largest export market.