Taita Taveta and the Ukrainian city of Odesa will collaborate in the fields of culture, medicine and economic development.
This follows the signing of a twin city agreement between the County Government of Taita Taveta and the Primorsky District Administration of Odesa City Council.
“The purpose of the visit, in particular, is to establish partnership relations between the Primorsky District Administration of Odessa City Council and Taita Taveta County. This twinning agreement, among other things, will be useful in negotiations on various cooperation in the fields of culture, medicine and economics,” a statement from the delegation reads.
The partnership agreement was signed by Governor Andrew Mwadime who hosted the delegation from the Odesa City Council.
Odesa City already has a twin city agreement with Mombasa county.
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
The Ukrainian officials said that to mark the establishment of a partnership with Taita Taveta, a symbolic sign indicating the distance to Taita Taveta has been installed on the central square of Odesa, near the city hall.
The signing of the agreement comes just a day after Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime affairs CS Hassan Joho hosted the delegation from Ukraine where they discussed partnership in various key areas under his ministry.
In a statement after the meeting, Joho said they held an important discussion on partnership in the maritime, fisheries and blue economy sub-sectors.
They also discussed ways of strengthening the existing partnerships between Kenya and Ukraine, especially in the three subsectors.
The CS said they also deliberated on improving market access for products from both countries.
“We exchanged valuable ideas on potential areas of collaboration particularly in improving market access for our products and exploring the possibility of sea vessels flying our respective national flags docking at the ports of our two countries. I am optimistic about the potential for shared growth and development,” Joho said.
