Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Adam Mohamed during a meeting with Iranian minister of Trade and Mining Mohammed Reza who is in Kenya seeking investment opportunity said that Kenya is particularly leveraging on Iran’s expertise in the textile and oil and gas sectors to develop strong local industries and seeks to enrich trade ties between the two countries.

The meeting is a follow-up of a memorandum of cooperation signed between the two countries during the 10th ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization.

The bilateral partnership comes a time when Kenya has ramped up its business environment, proposed tax incentives for Export based industries like special economic zones in Mombasa, Lamu and Kisumu.

Kenya and Iran will look to build their trade portfolio in agro-processing, textiles, leather, management and constructive materials.

Mr. Reza said that through these discussions they can explore alternative industries to expand their trade ties like ICT, textile and leather among others. They look forward to increased interaction in the coming months and years.

Iran is currently a large importer of Kenyan tea, horticulture and a major exporter of oil to Kenya as it has plans to expand its reach in East Africa.

According to the Iranian trade minister, Iran is targeting better relations with Africa and Kenya competitive positioning in Africa is crucial in this agenda.