Kenya hopes for Chinese private sector's participation in 'Big Four' projects

NAIROBI - The Kenyan government expects Chinese private sector to participate in projects dealing with food security, affordable housing, manufacturing and affordable healthcare, says Henry Rotich, the country's cabinet secretary for The National Treasury to Xinhua on Wednesday.

Rotich said Kenya will sell its economic agenda dubbed the Big Four during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit to be held in September 2018.

"The agenda for Kenya during the FOCAC will be the Big Four. We want Chinese private sector to participate in projects associated with this agenda," Rotich told Xinhua in Nairobi.

The Big Four agenda is a set of four targets by Kenyatta meant to be implemented in the next five years in order to grow the economy, create more jobs and improve the living standards of the county, the cabinet secretary said.

"There are huge opportunities for Chinese investors in the Big Four. As much as we partner with the Chinese government, we want to encourage more of the Chinese private sector to invest in Kenya. That is why we have continued with reforms to make it easier for investors to set up their facilities here," said Rotich.

FOCAC Summit will be held in September in China. FOCAC was initiated in the year 2000 as a structured cooperation mechanism between China and all African countries which have diplomatic ties with the country.

Kenya's agenda during the previous FOCAC summits has been on cooperating with China on infrastructure development and even under the Big Four, that component will be given the priority, the Kenyan official said.

"Infrastructure remains an enabler and is crucial to the realization of the Big Four," said Rotich.