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NAIROBI: Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Monday flew to Britain for a three-day official visit to seek investment for his country, struggling to recover from the impact of post-election violence.
Odinga, leading a delegation of seven cabinet ministers, will address a conference entitled "Investing in the New Kenya" and spell out government plans to make the country one of the most investment-friendly in the world.
"Conditions for that level of enhanced economic growth already exist now, but will require substantial new domestic and international investment," Odinga said in a statement.
Odinga said Kenya had created a "one-stop investment centre" to aid foreign businesses, and was also cutting red tape.
State television Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) reported that Odinga left at about 11.00 pm.
The July 23 investment conference, to be hosted by the British government, was pledged by Prime Minister Gordon Brown early this year when Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki were negotiating a power-sharing accord to end a cycle of tribal and revenge killings as well as police crackdowns.
Odinga will hold talks with Brown, Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary David Miliband, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander and the Minister for Africa, Asia and the United Nations, Lord Mark Malloch Brown.
Also part of the delegation will be Kenya business leaders from key sectors.
Violence erupted in Kenya after December 27 elections, when Kibaki was declared the winner of a bitterly-contested poll amid allegations of vote-rigging.
The unrest claimed at least 1,500 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands, but the unrest ended in a power-sharing deal in which Kibaki kept his job and Odinga was named prime minister.
The new British High Commissioner to Kenya, Robert Nigel Paul Macaire, who is due to start in the posting late August, pledged to assist Kenya put its economy back on track.
"I know that this is an important time for the country as people work to put behind them the troubles earlier in the year and to help Kenya return to the path of stability and development," Macaire said in a statement.
"I look forward to leading Britain's support for those efforts and I hope that in my time in Nairobi the UK will continue to work in close partnership with Kenya on the important agenda we share," added the career diplomat, who has served in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office since 1990.
The crisis dealt a severe blow to the country's infrastructure and its tourism and agricultural sectors, leaving the displaced in particular facing an acute food shortage.
Last month, the treasury slashed its economic growth forecast for 2008 from 7.0 per cent to 4.0 per cent, blaming political turmoil, weak consumer spending and record-high crude oil and food prices.
Odinga said he hoped help from Britain and other investors can help push growth to 10 per cent next year.
Although foreign direct investment climbed from nearly US$60 million in 2006 to US$85 million last year, analysts warned that the post-election violence could reduce the figure.
Last week, the government conceded setbacks in its war against systemic corruption in the country even though it has passed laws to combat an issue on which Odinga is expected to face tough questioning at the conference.
- AFP/yb
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