CS Dr. Alfred Mutua and his Congo counterpart Hon. Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso during the first session of the Kenya-Congo JCC in Brazzavillee on July 6, 2023
Cabinet Secretary Dr. Alfred Mutua together with his Congo counterpart Hon. Mr. Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso, held a ministerial segment of the Inaugural Session of the Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) on July 5 to 8, 2023, in Congo Brazzaville ahead of the State Visit by H.E. Dr. William Samoei Ruto scheduled for July 8 – 9, 2023.
14 MOUs were signed during the JCC’s Ministerial Segment, spanning a wide range of topics of shared interest, including trade, investments, political and diplomatic cooperation.
The Cabinet Secretary praised the deep and long-standing historical ties of friendship between the two nations, praising Congo as a significant strategic partner of Kenya with similar goals and values.
He emphasized how closely the two nations continue to work together in a number of areas, including political, diplomatic, socioeconomic, and cultural ties. Dr. Mutua reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to enhancing the mutually beneficial relations with Congo, highlighting the fact that only through cooperation and relationship-strengthening can the two nations ensure their socioeconomic and cultural development.
“Africa’s prosperity is hinged on the individual efforts of our countries. Kenya and Congo through this JCC, have taken bold steps to cooperate and prosper together. We must endeavor to continue working closely to accelerate our efforts to better the lives of our peoples,” said Dr. Mutua.
The Cabinet Secretary urged each Ministry to cooperate with one another and put more effort into advancing the action and implementation of the agreed-upon areas of cooperation by putting strong follow-up, monitoring, and evaluation mechanisms in place to assess the progress on the agreed-upon deliverables, noting that doing so would speed up growth and achieve win-win cooperation.
“I am optimistic that both countries can leverage existing platforms to share the dividends that will accrue from this bilateral cooperation in the various agreed areas,” said CS Mutua.
The CS reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment in enhancing bilateral relations with Congo in order to accelerate intra -Africa trade and connectivity.