Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua hosted Colombia's Vice President Francia Elena Marques Mina Monday evening ahead of his visit to the Latin American nation next week.
Gachagua told Mina that Kenya is keen on expanding the bilateral ties with Colombia as it looks to revive the coffee sector.
He added that the two countries were nurturing ties that would be of great benefit to them.
Mina, who is visiting Kenya for the second time in three months, is in the country for the Africa Climate Summit.
“Your second visit to Kenya this year only serves to strengthen the relations between our countries. We have taken note of the visa and aviation challenges that have frustrated traveling here. We will work on these in order to ease the traveling between Kenya and Colombia,” the DP said.
The DP said his planned visit to the South American country next week will further boost the blossoming relations between the nations.
Kenya is seeking to strengthen two-way trade and investment cooperation, especially in coffee production.
“We are interested in learning the best practices, especially in coffee farming because, like Kenya, Colombia is among the best producers of Coffee,” the DP said.
Colombia produces an average of 12 million bags of coffee a year, which is one of the world’s highest.
Mina said they had already identified the challenges hampering better relations and are working on them to ensure they improve the ties.
“We are keen on strengthening the relations between the two countries. We know the challenges that we are facing but we will seek to solve them to boost the ties,” she said.
The Vice President said her country was interested in finding a connection with Africa because many African Colombians traced their roots to the continent.
“We know Colombia cannot progress without respecting the African descent of over 30 percent of Afro-Colombians."
The DP praised the Colombian Vice President for attending the Summit, the first to be held in Africa, saying it showed Colombia was interested in working with African countries to find solutions to the challenges brought by climate change.
“The Summit is very important for us. This Summit will give Africa an opportunity to take a common position on Climate Change and Carbon Credit because, for a long time, we have been given a raw deal from the rest of the world despite being the least emitters of carbon,” said Gachagua.
He said the outcomes of the summit will be taken to the United Nations General Assembly and the COP28.
“We will also take a common position on climate financing that will be articulated during the United Nations General Assembly and during the COP-28. This Summit has been informed by the knowledge that there is strength in having a united position,” added the DP.