Kenya seeks China's partnership to boost blue economy

KWALE, Kenya, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is seeking to enhance its partnership with China in order to boost its blue economy, a Kenyan government official said Wednesday.

Salim Mvurya, the cabinet secretary for the Kenyan Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs, told Xinhua that the blue economy sector currently accounts for 2.5 percent of the country's economy.

"Kenya is looking for international partners including China in order to develop fisheries and maritime infrastructure," Mvurya said on the sidelines of the two-day Blue Invest Africa 2024 conference that is currently taking place in Kwale, a coastal county in Kenya.

The two-day event gathered more than 200 investors, entrepreneurs and development partners and senior government officials from 36 countries across Africa to review ways to boost the blue economy in the continent.

Mvurya said that the country's blue economy remains below its potential due to years of underinvestment by both public and private sectors, and there is heavy reliance on artisan fisherfolk for the exploitation of marine and inland fisheries resources, resulting in limited revenues from the sector.

"The bulk of the fisheries sector is undertaken by traditional boats and small vessels that cannot venture deep into the sea," he said, noting that Kenya is exploring collaboration with China to enhance the capacity of its fishing vessels, in order to revitalize the sector.

The East African nation is also seeking cooperation with China to equip its coast guard with modern equipment to boost its search and rescue operations in the deep oceans.

Mvurya revealed that discussions are underway with the Chinese government regarding increased cooperation in marine fisheries, including the potential for allowing Chinese vessels to engage in fishing along the country's Indian Ocean coastline.

Kenya has already signed a protocol with China on wild-caught fish products to boost international trade between the two nations. One of the goals of the protocol is to forge closer ties so that Kenya's fisheries products can easily access China's consumer market, Mvurya said.

The country is reliant on imports of fish as local production is not able to keep up with demand due to growing population and changing diets, he said, adding that the imports of fish from China help meet local demand for fisheries products in the country.

According to the Kenyan government, one avenue to reduce dependence on freshwater fish imports is through encouraging fish farming in the country. Kenya is also keen on partnering with Chinese investors who can introduce modern technology to expand the local fish farming sector.

Mvurya added that the east African nation is looking forward to signing bilateral agreements in line with China-Africa blue economy cooperation to bolster the fisheries sector's contribution to the economy.