German Economy Minister Habeck to open business summit in Nairobi

Robert Habeck (L), German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, and Musalia Mudavadi, Kenyan Prime Minister, attend the evening reception of the 5th German-African Business Summit. Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck continues his two-day visit to Kenya on Tuesday with the opening of the 5th German-African Business Summit in the Kenyan capital Nairobi together with Kenyan Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi.

This is Germany's most important business event on the African continent. Around 800 participants from various African countries and from Germany are expected to attend.

Africa is of interest to the German economy due to its high economic dynamism. The continent has the second highest economic growth rate worldwide, after Asia, albeit starting from a low economic level. Last year, German foreign trade with the continent reached a record volume of €61.2 billion ($64.2 billion).

On the first day of his visit on Monday, Habeck learned about the development of renewable energies and the training of skilled workers. In Kenya alone, between 800,000 and 1 million young, mostly well-educated people enter the labour market every year, where many of them have little opportunity to progress professionally.