Kenya and EU strengthen ties with trade deal.

Kenya and the European Union have signed a trade deal that will give Kenya duty-free and quota-free access to the EU, its biggest market. The deal will also provide progressive tariff reductions for imports from the EU to Kenya over a period of 25 years. The agreement is a boost for Brussels as it seeks deeper economic ties with Africa in the face of competition from China. The EU has taken steps to counter China’s Belt and Road programme, announcing in February it would increase investments in Kenya by hundreds of millions of dollars through its own Global Gateway initiative.