The county government of Tana River is expected to work together with the government of Jordan in various exchange programmes after a delegation from Kenya visited the country.
The Kenyan delegation to a conference organised by Jordan Tourism Board in the Middle East country was led by Bungoma politician Moses Nandalwe, who is the personal assistant to Tana River governor Dhadho Godhana.
Nandalwe said that Kenya and Jordan agreed to cooperate in areas of industrial development, industrial parks, tourism, renewable energy, agriculture, housing and urban development, trade and investment.
Speaking to the Nation from Jordan, Nandalwe said Jordan Tourism Board also agreed to work with Kenya on other exchange programmes under education and cyber security.
“These programmes will be good for the country and will encourage capacity building,” Nandalwe said.
Nandalwe, who runs the Nandalwe Foundation that does charity work in Sirisia, decried the low levels of trade volumes between Kenya and Jordan and stressed the need for the two countries to work together towards increasing the trade volumes and investment flows.
In 2017 Kenya and Jordan struck a deal to export tea and coffee worth over $60 million (Sh6 billion) to the Middle East country.
The deal had followed the signing of the Economic and Trade Cooperation Agreement between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Republic of Kenya in 2016.
At the same time, Nandalwe, who was an aspirant for the Sirisia Parliamentary seat on an ODM ticket in 2013 and 2017, has announced his candidature for the same seat in next year’s election.
Mr Nandalwe said his priority, it elected, will be infrastructure, health, education and youth empowerment programmes.
The youthful politician is likely to face off with the incumbent John Waluke who is serving his second term.
It is not however unclear if the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will clear Waluke to contest in the polls following his conviction over a maize scandal. Waluke has since appealed the sentence. BY DAILY NATION