EXCELLENCIES,, DISTINGIUSHED GUESTS LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

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1 Your Excellencies the Ambassadors, Honourable Representatives of the Kingdom of Belgium, Honourable representatives of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Honourable representatives of the European Union Members of the Diplomatic Corp, Honourable Ministers and other dignitaries in Brussels attending the ACP Council of Ministers, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this very important day in the calendar of our nation. On 12 th December 1964, Kenya became a Republic. We assumed responsibility over the affairs of our country, a great feat that was achieved because of men and women whose personal sacrifice led to our country s freedom after a bitter struggle from the great burden of colonialism. As we look back to that day forty eight (48) years ago, we are proud of milestones we have covered. EXCELLENCIES,, DISTINGIUSHED GUESTS This is the second Jamhuri Day, we are celebrating under the New Constitution which was promulgated in August last year. As some of you may recall, I did, in the last celebration speak about this major achievement in our governance structure that marked a fundamental step in fulfilling our development aspirations by addressing social, economic and political shortcomings that had been associated with the old constitution. This new constitution has been hailed as a most progressive, comprehensive and development oriented one, with a very detailed Bill of Rights. Today, I am happy to say that despite some normal challenges, we are on course in 1

2 implementing the constitution. Kenya Parliament, Parliamentary Committees and relevant government institutions have been working with dedication to ensure that the dreams and aspirations of our people, which they expressed overwhelmingly through a referendum on the new constitution last year, are realized within the prescribed time frame. Kenya believes in peaceful coexistence, good neighborliness and respect for multilateral institutions and instruments. It is for this reason that we have continued to play a proactive role in the search for lasting peace, particularly within the Horn of Africa region. We know that peace and security are essential elements not only in solving humanitarian crisis as are being witnessed in many parts of the world today, but also play a major role in fostering regional integration and sustainable development. All of you here tonight are aware that Kenya shares a common border with Somalia, a country that has known no peace over the last two decades. Because of this geographical fact and proximity we bear the greatest brunt of insecurity occasioned by lawlessness in that country. This situation is compounded by the fact that due to the said insecurity coupled with the worst drought in the region in sixty (60) years, there has been an influx of refugees into Kenya. We are consequently now hosting the largest refugee camp in the world, the Dadaab Refugee Camp. Initially designed to hold ninety thousand people, it is now the home to well over six hundred thousand refugees and they continue to come. Our appeal to the international community is that it redoubles its effort in the search of causes of conflict, innovative management of protracted refugee situations, and more importantly, the promotion of burden sharing among states. The burden of dealing with the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa caused mainly by the lack of peace in Somalia should not be left to Kenya or the countries of 2

3 the region. It is a problem that requires collective responsibility by all in the community of nations.,, Recently, elements of Al Shabaab militia operating in Somalia violated our territorial integrity. They crossed our border and committed heinous crimes including killing, maiming and abducting Kenyans as well as foreign nationals within the sovereign State of Kenya. These persistent attacks had reached a level that could no longer be condoned. They had potential of escalating the already fragile situation in the region and were clearly aimed at sabotaging our economy given the targets of the attacks. Faced with such blatant provocation, we were left with no alternative but to take steps to protect our sovereignty and territorial integrity within the ambits of international law including the Charter of the United Nations as well as other multilateral and bilateral instruments. Our activities in combating Al Shabaab menace in the region are with the support and collaboration of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Somalia, IGAD, the East African Community, and the African Union. We are confident that we are now closest than at any other time in the last twenty years to finding peace that can be built upon to be sustainable to the benefit not just of our brothers and sisters in Somalia, but for the whole region, and for the international community. We are very grateful to all our friends and partners who have stood with us during these very difficult times, and who have expressed solidarity and supported to our efforts to promote peace and security in the region. 3

4 Let me now mention briefly our economic performance this year, where we have had challenges but remain resilient. Like other developing countries, we have continued being susceptible to high international food and fuel prices that have characterized this year, and the effects of the ongoing Euro crisis. Earlier in the middle of the year, we suffered from severe effects of the drought I mentioned earlier which was compounded by the conflict in the Horn of Africa specifically in Somalia, leading to food shortages in the region and inflationary pressures in Kenya. But I am happy to observe that the economy has successfully continued to weather these adverse circumstances and remain vibrant. We expect it to register a growth rate of about 5% GDP this year., On investment, Kenya offers numerous opportunities including access to a market of over 130 million people within the East Africa Community and an estimated population of 430 million people in the COMESA region. Negotiations are continuing and are at an advanced stage for the creation of a Free Trade Area (FTA) for the tripartite region of COMESA/EAC/SADC. Kenya as a gateway to this region offers great investment opportunities in nearly all sectors of the economy but more so in manufacturing, tourism, ICT, sports and agriculture. Investors are guaranteed repatriation of capital gains and profits after payment of taxes which are relatively low particularly taking into account the tax holidays for investments within our Export Processing Zones. The European Union continues to be a major and valued trading partner with Kenya. We are currently actively engaged with the EU in working towards finalization of our negotiations as the East African Community on the Economic Partnership Agreement - EPA. We believe the negotiations given a chance will be completed in good time and that once signed, the agreement finally adopted by the parties as partners will result in a win win situation for all. The negotiations should be given a chance so that neither 4

5 party comes out of the table not fully satisfied with the outcome. For this reason I appeal to the EU in the mean time to suspend any intention it may have of amending the Market Access Regulation (MAR) 1528 of 2007., As I conclude my remarks this evening, I would like to thank you most sincerely for having found time to come and celebrate with us. I acknowledge and thank all the Kenyans present here tonight and would like to request them to continue being involved in, and actively participating in the affairs of our country. FINALLY, May I now request you to raise your glasses for a toast to the good health and long life of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya Hon. Mwai Kibaki, for peace and prosperity for the people of Kenya, and for deepened, broadened and strengthened bonds of friendship between our country, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the European Union. I thank you all and wish you happy holidays and a prosperous and peaceful Kembi bi-gitura Ambassador Brussels, 9 th December