Message from the President:
Today I opened the Kenya Diaspora Easter Investment Conference 2015 – the first national investment conference of its kind. My Government is focused on creating an enabling environment that will integrate the Kenyan diaspora and enable them to invest in the nation’s development. In this process of integration, the main thrust must be to unlock and maximize the hitherto untapped promise of the diaspora and use this energy to carry our country to greater heights, while at the same time meeting the needs and expectations of Kenyans abroad at every point in time. Kenyans living abroad remitted $ 1.5 billion last year. The role of the diaspora in the development of Kenya is critical and there’s need for the remittances to be structured. The launch of the African Institute for Remittances in Nairobi in November last year is one of the measures we’ve taken to encourage diaspora engagement in the country’s economic growth. The Institute will, among other things assist in capacity building of member states of the AU, remittance senders, recipients, and other stakeholders, to manage remittances as a strategic asset. My Government has also embarked on deepening its engagement with the diaspora beyond remittances. We have enormous potential in our diaspora’s skills, knowledge and expertise that should be tapped to positively contribute to the growth of our economy. We have scaled up efforts to address challenges facing the Kenyan diaspora through the National Diaspora Policy which is one of the pillars of Kenya’s Foreign Policy.
Leave a Reply