British Premier Invites Kenyan Leaders for Tourism, Trade Talks

United Kingdom’s Prime minister Gordon Brown has invited both President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to London to discuss ways to revamp Kenya’s ailing tourism sector and other trade issues, Kenyan tourism minister Najib Balala disclosed on Friday.

Addressing journalists in Nairobi after a week trip to the U.K where he promoted Kenya’s tourism, Balala said that he was asked by Brown on Thursday evening to officially invite the two leaders to deliberate on the two key issues.

“Kenya welcomes any help to revamp its dented tourism sector that was dealt a big blow following recent post election skirmishes in January and February sparked by last year’s disputed presidential elections”, he said.

At the height of the violence, droves of tourists especially from Kenya’s leading source market, U.K, kept away after the British government slapped a travel advisory on Kenya.

The tourism sector, the country’s second foreign exchange earner after horticultural sector, lost 5 billion shillings (US$80 million) as a result of the violence.

Meanwhile, Balaala advised his colleagues in the Grand Coalition Government to quit bickering and instead send the right signals to the international community for tourists and investors to have confidence in Kenya.

Source African Press Agency

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