By Hannatu Sadiq
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have met for bilateral talks at the UK prime minister’s Chequers residence.
The duo are expected to formally agree an initial offer of 817,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines for Kenya. They are also to host a fundraising summit in London. The event, focused on global education efforts, will be attended by other world leaders as well as business, charity, education and youth representatives.
Johnson and Kenyatta planted a tree at Chequers to symbolise the two countries’ bilateral relationship and commitment to tackling climate change together ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
Britain announced Wednesday it will begin donating millions of coronavirus vaccine doses around the world, including to various Commonwealth countries, following its pledge to provide 100 million jabs globally by next June.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, said the ramped up rollout of an initial nine million inoculations, will under way on Friday, to Kenya, Jamaica and several Asian nations.
“They will go to countries, vulnerable places like Laos and Cambodia, partners like Indonesia, Malaysia (and) a range of Commonwealth countries from Kenya to Jamaica,” he said.
“This demonstrates we’re not just doing it because it’s in our own interest. It shows global Britain as a life-saving force for good in the world.”
Around half of the donated AstraZeneca vaccine doses will be dispatched to Nairobi this week, Downing Street said ahead of the meetings.
“As friends and allies, we are sharing UK vaccine doses to support Kenya’s fight against the pandemic,” Johnson added in a statement.
