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PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHNR #0342 0541324
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231324Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
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UNCLAS NAIROBI 000342 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE ALSO FOR S/CT, AF/E AND AF/EPS 
STATE PASS USTR PATRICK DEAN COLEMAN 
TREASURY FOR REBECCA N. KLEIN 
COMMERCE FOR BECKY ERKUL 
RIYADH ALSO PLEASE PASS DHAHRAN 
STATE PLEASE PASS USITC FOR ALAN TREAT, ERLAND HERFINDAHL, 
PHILIP STONE, AND RALPH WATKINS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAIR ECON ENRG EPET ETRD IR KE PINR PREL EINV
SUBJECT: IRANIAN PRESIDENT VISITS KENYA 
 
REF: 08 NAIROBI 002137 
 
¶1. (U)  Iranian President Ahmadinejad arrives in Kenya on 
February 24th at the head of a delegation of over 100 
government officials and private businessmen.  Ahmadinejad's 
visit follows a flurry of reciprocal visits between high 
level Kenyan officials and their Iranian counterparts over 
the past six months that have focused on economic ties and 
trade issues.  In a recent interview with a local newspaper 
Iran's ambassador to Kenya, Dr. Seyyed Ali Sharifi stated "It 
is a sensitive time in relations between our two countries, 
we want to escalate the level of relations." 
 
¶2.  (U)  During this visit the Iranian and Kenyan leaders 
plan to sign several memoranda of understanding (MOU) on 
trade issues.  These will reportedly include agreements to 
allow airlines of the two countries to operate direct flights 
between their respective capitals.  Other MOUs will cover 
cooperation on energy, particularly oil, and post graduate 
training scholarships for Kenyan students.  Iranian firms are 
already involved in several projects in Kenya, including 
construction of a hydro-electric power plant north of Nairobi 
and a gas power plant near the port of Mombasa, both by the 
Iranian company Farab.  Another Iranian firm, Icon, has won a 
tender for construction of a road between the Lake Victoria 
port towns of Homa Bay and Kendu. Iranian pharmaceutical 
firms are also reported to have ambitions for making 
significant inroads into the Kenyan market. 
 
¶3. (U) Kenyan exports to Iran, primarily tea, currently run 
about $55 million per year according to government figures. 
Iran exports petroleum products, carpets and chemicals to 
Kenya.  While leading a trade delegation to Tehran in 
January, Kenyan Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta was told that 
Iran hopes to expand the volume of trade between the two 
countries to $500 million per year by 2010. 
 
¶4. (U) Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula has stated 
that he does not expect Kenya's relationship with the U.S. 
and other western allies to be affected by its growing ties 
with Iran.  Wetangula told reporters, "Our friendship with 
country A is not to the exclusion of country B; every 
relationship has its unique factors and qualities.  Our 
relationship with Iran is commercial."  Regarding the ongoing 
controversy over Iran's nuclear program, Wetangula said, 
"Kenya has no problems with the advancement of knowledge in 
scientific fields and especially with regard to the 
development of nuclear knowledge for peaceful reasons." 
However, "...we don't believe that any country in the world, 
without exception, should possess nuclear weapons." 
 
¶5. (U) We have weighed in with the Kenyan government to make 
clear U.S. views on Iran. 
 
¶6. (U)  Comment: With a large Muslim minority and major air, 
sea, land and electronic communications links to much of 
Africa, Kenya is an attractive entry point for Iran as it 
seeks to increase its commercial and political ties to the 
continent.  Greater Iranian commercial, cultural and 
diplomatic linkages to Kenya are likely to be followed by 
similar strengthening of Tehran's ties to and influence in 
countries throughout eastern and central Africa. 
RANNEBERGER