President Uhuru Kenyatta joined other leaders of the globe in The Africa-Europe round-table forum that was held in Vienna, Austria. The president was accompanied by the other leaders such as CS Monica Juma ,other leaders and even business people across the country.
The Africa-Europe forum aims at promoting corporation between the African countries and European nations. It aims at lifting the different economies of state of the different countries.
This year theme of the forum was “Taking Cooperation to the digital age.”
Leadership of the forum
President Kagame of Rwanda is the Chairman of the African Union for 2018. As an advocate for the advancement of an African single digital market, he has emphasised that a pathway to prosperity for all Africans, especially young people, can only be achieved by infusing African economies with technology and by collaborating with Africa’s private sector.
Therefore, President Kagame and Chancellor Kurz have decided to call for a High-Level Forum to provide a space for European and African leaders, together with CEOs of major global companies, innovation champions, start-ups and other stakeholders, to reflect and act on what needs to be done to secure prosperity and competitiveness on both continents as well as to deepen the relationship in all its aspects with a specific focus on taking our cooperation to the digital age.
The Merits of President Uhuru Kenyatta attending the forum
The High-Level Forum will promote innovation and digitalisation as important enablers of our future development, so that everyone can benefit from the ongoing digital transformation. It aims at assessing how current partnerships between Africa and Europe contribute to this goal, complementing the ongoing implementation of the joint declaration of the 2017 Abidjan Summit between the African Union and the European Union, which, among other things, highlighted the importance of unlocking the potential of the digital economy for Africa and Europe. It also aims at contributing to the Africa-Europe Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs announced by President Juncker in his recent State of the Union speech.
The High-Level Forum will highlight the untapped potential for deepening the partnership in technology exchange and trade as well as their importance for economic growth, creating employment opportunities, building resilient societies and fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals. In order to harness this potential, political will is crucial for creating the necessary conditions for investment and innovation.
Potential Technological cooperation
A Round Table Programme focused on key themes linked to innovation for the digital age in Africa: Agriculture 4.0 (in cooperation with the Austrian Development Agency); FinTech (in cooperation with the Austrian Ministry of Finance); Jobs for the 21st century (in cooperation with the Austrian Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs); Investing in Start-ups (in cooperation with ABAN/aaia/New Venture Scouting); Sustainable Energy Access (in cooperation with SEforALL); eGovernment (in cooperation with the European Commission); Accelerating eCommerce in Africa (in cooperation with the World Economic Forum).
What the meeting had to future of business in Kenya
The Forum was be accompanied by Business to Business (B2B) as well as Business to Government (B2G) meetings (organised by Advantage Austria/the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber), where entrepreneurs and innovators exchanged their concepts and solutions for the digital age. A lot of innovation is happening both in Africa and in Europe, with many creative start-ups providing solutions for different emerging challenges, and this will be an opportunity to showcase them.
This was an important opportunity for the President in helping harness the potential relevant for the country’s growth, economically ,socially , politically and even fit in the digital age.