By Magdalene Mukami
NAIROBI
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta held talks on Wednesday with visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry at State House in Nairobi.
According to a statement issued by the presidency, Kenyatta thanked the government of Egypt for supporting Kenya's fight against cancer.
Shoukry, for his part, said his country offered to train 50 Kenyan professionals on treating cancer among children, asserting that Egypt had considerable experience in this regard.
He also said Egypt would donate four dialysis machines to the Kenyatta National Hospital, according to the presidency.
According to statistics released by Kenya's Health Ministry, cancer is the country's third leading cause of death, with over 40,000 new cases – and 27,000 cancer-related deaths – reported each year.
Currently, there are only four radiation centers in Kenya, all of which are located in capital Nairobi.
The East African country also suffers a shortage of doctors with experience treating cancer.
Shoukry, for his part, commended Kenya's efforts – through the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East Africa regional bloc – to bring peace to the region.
"We need to avoid manipulation by certain countries that don't want to see strong African governments making independent decisions," he was quoted as saying.
President Kenyatta, meanwhile, said Kenya was among the African countries that espoused the idea of Pan-Africanism.
"Our focus is on directing our energies towards African unity, in terms of investment and sharing experiences," he asserted.
"This isn't an agenda that can be easily achieved because of the interests of others outside the continent," Kenyatta warned.
He added: "Kenya and Egypt must treat each other as partners and not only as potential markets."
Wednesday's meeting was also attended by Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed and Egyptian Ambassador to Kenya Mohamud Talaat.
Shoukry is currently visiting Nairobi to attend a meeting of the Kenyan-Egyptian Business Forum and address the 129th session of the UN Committee of Permanent Representatives.
Egypt is currently seeking a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2016 and 2017.
