December 14^th, 2008 marks the 45^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relation between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Kenya. On this occasion, H.E. Hu Jintao, President of China and H.E. Yang Jiechi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, exchanged congratulatory messages with their counterparts H.E. Mwai Kibaki, President of Kenya and Hon. Moses Wetangula, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kenya.

The message from H.E. Hu Jintao is as follows,

On the occasion of the forty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Kenya, I would like to convey my warm congratulations and best wishes, on behalf of the Government and the people of China and in my own name, to Your Excellency and through you to the Government and the people of the Republic of Kenya.

Over the past 45 years since the establishment of Sino-Kenyan diplomatic relations, although the world politics are constantly changing and great changes have also taken place in our two countries, the friendly cooperative relationship between China and Kenya has been keeping on a healthy and stable development. We have been rendering each other support on issues relating to vital interests of our own countries and facilitating close cooperation in the fields of trade and economy, education and culture, health and tourism among others. The cordial friendship between our two peoples is strengthening with each passing day. During recent years, bilateral high-level contacts are becoming more frequent and mutual political trust is further deepened. The relationship between our two countries is maintaining a good momentum of comprehensive development which the Chinese side is quite satisfied with.

Further developing the Sino-Kenyan friendly cooperative relationship is the common wish of our two peoples and serves the fundamental and long-term interests of our two countries. I assure you that China will work together with Kenya to further expand bilateral exchanges, strengthen win-win cooperation and continue to enrich and move forward the Sino-Kenyan relationship with our joint efforts.

The message from H.E. Mwai Kibaki is as follows,

On behalf of the Government, the people of Kenya and my own behalf, I wish to convey to Your Excellency and through you to the Government and friendly people of China sincere congratulations and best wishes as we commemorate the 45^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kenya and China.

China was among the very first countries to recognize the independence of Kenya and immediately established its diplomatic mission in Nairobi. Since then, the two countries have consolidated and intensified the bonds of friendship and cooperation. Our two countries have made significant progress in promoting political dialogue, enhancing investment, trade, tourism and business between the countries. The substantial increase in the two-way trade in recent years is an important indicator of the potential our countries have in expanding cooperation in the economic field for the benefit of our two peoples.

Over the years, China has provided assistance to Kenya, particularly in the critical areas such as infrastructure, agriculture, health, education and human resources development. In the last two years alone, China has extended to Kenya grants and concessional loans totaling to RMB1.260billion. I must on behalf of all Kenyans express our gratitude to the government and the people of China for their support and generous assistance.

Our two countries share a common perception on the challenges facing our world today. I am pleased to note that Kenya and China have maintained close collaboration in international affairs. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation therefore provides us with another framework through which our two Governments would be able to work closely to consolidate the gains of the many years of fruitful cooperation and mutual support as well as address peaceful co-existence and the priority of our people both at the bilateral and continental levels.

My government attaches great importance to Sino-Kenya relations and is committed to furthering those relations in order to achieve greater progress and prosperity for our peoples. I look forward to continue working closely with Your Excellency in enhancing further our mutually beneficial cooperation.

I wish Your Excellency good health, long life and prosperity for the people of China.

The message from H.E. Yang Jiechi is as follows,

On the occasion of the forty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Kenya, I would like to convey to Your Honorable my warm congratulations.

Looking backward to the past 45 years since the establishment of Sino-Kenyan diplomatic relations, we are pleased to see the friendly cooperative relationship between our two countries has been keeping on continuous development and becoming more mature with each passing day. Kenya is China's cordial friend, brother and partner. We express our great appreciation and sincere gratitude to Kenya for its precious support to China on issues relating to China's vital interests and the international affairs. The relationship between China and Kenya is maintaining a favorable development and has broad prospects. I look forward to work together with Your Honorable to make unremitting efforts to further develop the friendly cooperative relationship between our two countries.

The message from Hon. Moses Wetangula is as follows,

I have the honour to convey on behalf of the Government and the People of Kenya, our warm congratulations to you and to the Government of the People's Republic of China on the occasion of the 45^th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kenya and China.

I am pleased to note that the bilateral relations between our two countries have expanded tremendously since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1963. The high level visits by the leaders of our two countries in the recent years have further consolidated our engagements. Significant progress has been made in promoting economic, trade and cultural cooperation as well as political dialogue in order to foster long term development of bilateral relations. I am confident that the strong ties subsisting between Kenya and China will grow as the two nations continue to identify areas of close cooperation in the years ahead.

I sincerely look forward to working closely with Your Excellency with a view to jointly pushing forward the long-term constructive and cooperative relations between Kenya and China. I also hope that we will soon have the opportunity to meet and exchange views.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration.