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FROM DECISIONS TO ACTIONS

FROM DECISIONS TO ACTIONS
In less than two months Kenya will play host to the 14th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. This high-level engagement will once again put Kenya on the map and will bring together over 6000 high-profile delegates and stakeholders from around the world, to discuss key emerging issues affecting world economies particularly in developing nations.
Kenya is quickly becoming a “hotbed” of major decision-making as this will not be the first time that an international body is pitching camp in the country to deliberate on important world matters.  Last year in December, the 10th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization was held in Nairobi, culminating into the adoption of the “Nairobi Package”. WTO officials have since termed it as historical since 6 critical decisions were made on Agriculture, Cotton, and other issues related to least developed countries. A ministerial declaration outlining the Package and the future work of the WTO was adopted at the end of the five-day conference. Needless to say, this conference was the first to ever be held in Africa.
The Fourteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development will among other things delve into appropriate means of delivering on post-2015 development agenda. The Conference will most likely bring to the fore challenges that developing countries have to grapple with in their pursuit of becoming strong economies and suggest solutions. As per the theme “From Decisions to Actions”, the quadrennial conference will be pushing for tangible and practical ways of implementing the solutions, beyond just formulating policies.
Kenya now has a challenge of engraving its economic influence in the region and also presenting itself as a willing and able trade and development partner. In the spirit of “leaving no one behind” it will be seeking to strengthen its bilateral and multilateral trade relations with all the countries that will be represented at the UNCTAD 14 event.
Kenya last hosted UNCTAD in 1976 and will be the first country to host the meeting twice. The weeklong meeting (14th to 2nd July, 2016) will be attended by Heads of States and Governments, ministers and other prominent players from the business world, civil society and academia.

Such great milestones that Kenya is experiencing confirm the notion that our country is right at the centre of the much anticipated Africa Renaissance, and has been strategically positioned to usher in the next economic, cultural and spiritual awakening. It behoves us therefore to continue standing in the gap for this great nation and watch that it never burns or aborts its great destiny. We must continue to pray for the peace stability of our nation to ensure that the enemy does not encumber the great progress that we are making.

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