Belgium pledges Kenya investment

10 December 2003

BRUSSELS – Belgium’s ambassador to Kenya Frederic Renard has declared the country safe for tourism and has pledged to increase Belgian investment in the East African country.

“The whole world is generally unsafe and Kenya is just a part of it – it is not the only country that is facing terrorism threats the way some people have claimed,” Renard told Kenyan daily The Nation.

“Kenya was faced with the unique challenge of sharing long boundaries with politically unstable countries, making it more vulnerable in the face of the global terror threats,” he said.

Belgium has decided to not only encourage tourism to the area, but increase flights to Kenya and encourage investment by Belgian companies, it was announced ahead of a meeting between Kenyan officials and a Belgian trade delegation.

The 35-strong delegation, led by federal Trade and Tourism Minister, Didier Gosuin, stressed that foreign investments would be an important factor in Kenya’s economic recovery.

Kenya’s tourism industry suffered a massive blow in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, when it was labelled a security hot spot.

The Belgian visit took place against a backdrop of security alerts issued by the US, warning that Kenya was under threat of terrorist attacks.

Subject: Belgian news