Daniel Arap MoiMr. President
Last night my colleagues and I were present at The Queen's Banquet in your honour at Buckingham Palace. Today it is the turn of Her Majesty's Government to entertain you and your distinguished delegation. We welcome you here at No. 10, Downing Street.
This is the first State Visit by a President of Kenya to Britain. But it is of course not your first visit to Britain, nor even to No. 10; you were here little more than a year ago, as Vice-President, for talks with Mr Callaghan. Since then you will have noticed that we have had an Election. Governments may change; but the warmth and sincerity of our welcome does not. So we have here, on occasions of this kind and in the talks we have just concluded, a good example of that continuity and consistency which marks our relationship.
You come now as President of your country. Kenya too can be proud of the strength of her institutions. The passing of President Kenyatta was a solemn moment in your country's history; and your assumption of the Presidency is a sign that Kenya will continue on the course which, with your help, he had set.
Mr. President, you and I with our colleagues have just completed a very thorough exchange of views. This is part of the continuing process by which our two governments keep in the closest touch and which is fortified by the many links between us through the Commonwealth. I look forward to further exchanges when we meet in Lusaka in August. And because we are Commonwealth colleagues we can speak very frankly, as you and I have done this morning, and as friends and partners should do: [end p1] with the confidence that comes from mutual respect.
On the international scene our two governments face many common problems. There are no easy solutions and we may sometimes see things in a different light. What we share is a determination to face these problems with honesty and goodwill.
Relations between Britain and Kenya are warm. There are always matters which we need to discuss with each other, for the interests of Britain and Kenya, both political and economic, are closely linked. But I am sure I am right in saying that there are no substantial bilateral differences between us and that, if these were to arise, solutions would soon be found.
The difficult world economic situation presents challenges to us all. With the oil price rises and continuing oil supply shortfall, the prospects for world growth are not good. This is worrying, particularly for the smaller and poorer countries.
It is against this background that I shall be going with western colleagues to Tokyo for the economic summit. It was also the background for UNCTAD's deliberations in Manila last month.
I know there is some disappointment that UNCTAD V did not achieve more by comparison with its predecessor in Nairobi. But it did achieve useful agreements on such important issues as the need for resistance to protectionist pressures.
Discussion of the issues involved in Manila will continue elsewhere. Similarly, we look forward to early completion of the negotiations in the Lome Convention after the substantial progress made at the Ministerial meeting in Brussels last month.
Among the many attitudes we have in common is the healthy one of wanting to create wealth to meet the rightly rising expectations of our peoples. We are naturally keenly interested [end p2] in the wellbeing of the Kenyan economy. Our commercial relations are substantial. We are each an important market to the other. Mr. President, you are meeting many British businessmen during your visit. The volume of trade depends on many factors. But Kenya's extensive commercial relations would not have been possible without a background of sound internal development. Here Kenya rightly enjoys wide international respect. British investment, which is very substantial, has played an important part in this, in increasingly close partnership with Kenyan interests. I am sure that under your leadership the Kenyan Government will continue to follow policies conducive to the investment and trade which are so necessary for both internal and external confidence.
Public investment is also important, and we are glad that our substantial aid programmes can play a full part in support of Kenya's own development plans. Since Independence the aid flow has passed £200 million. Here I may say that the environment against which our aid programme is conducted in Kenya is in many respects a model. Over 700 technical cooperation personnel benefit from working with Kenyan colleagues.
In paying tribute to the development of the modern Kenyan economy, agriculture must have a special word. The land and its resources are particularly dear to the Kenyan people. This year saw the end of the successive land transfer programmes in which farming land formerly owned by British expatriates has passed into the hands of Kenyan farmers, often on a collective basis, bringing both social and economic benefits. The emphasis is now increasingly on bringing new land, in the more difficult arid areas, into productive use. We are helping with this too. [end p3]
In Africa one particular task confronts Her Majesty's Government which you and I, Mr. President, have been able to discuss today. In the last year political progress has taken place in Rhodesia of a kind and on a scale which would previously have been unthinkable and which in the British Government's view represents a fundamental change in the circumstances in that country. Britain has a special responsibility towards Rhodesia and we must carry out that responsibility. But we have made clear that we wish to proceed in the closest consultation with our friends in the Commonwealth. My colleagues have greatly valued the opportunity of your visit to discuss these questions with frankness and in confidence.
In responding to these challenges friends of Africa would do well to look to the recent history of Kenya, from which they can derive inspiration and hope. They will learn from this that where there is the will to succeed, where men and women of all races and creeds pull together, and where there is the spirit of reconciliation, the great prize can be won. That prize is fundamental but peaceful change leading to stable and democratic government. Where Kenya has shown the way, others can surely follow.
[TOAST: THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA].