Kenyan Consulate in Dallas:

Transcription

1 KENYAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY Kenyan Consulate in Dallas: Kenyan Government. 9/10/2010 City of Dallas. Kenyan American Community (KAC) seeks to establish, promote and facilitate trade investments, commerce, tourism, cultural exchange and education exchange programs between Kenya and America. And do hereby request the Government of the Republic of Kenya to consider and grant the request of a fully functional Consulate to the Dallas Metropolis.

2 Kenyan American Community Consulate Office in Dallas Project Summary With an increasing population of Kenyan nationalities in Texas and particularly the greater Dallas Metropolitan area, the board of Kenyan America Community seeks an opportunity to further strengthen the close and cordial relations between the State of Texas and Kenya, and also people-to-people contact through the establishment of a Kenyan consulate office in the Dallas area. As one of the largest city in the United States, Dallas stands as an economical and commercially significant hub for Kenya and most African nations that have identified and capitalized on the opportunity of making the city of Dallas their economic trade and tourism center in the United States through the establishment of fully fledge consulate offices. Kenyan American Community (KAC) is an officially registered nonprofit organization serving Kenyans in all the 50 states of America, and which seeks to establish, promote and facilitate trade investments, commerce, tourism, cultural exchange and Education exchange programs between Kenya and the United States of America. KAC is also actively engaged in this year 12 th Annual African Economic Forum to be hosted by the African Chambers of Commerce in their Head office located in Dallas, Texas. Our focus The five main areas that Kenyan American Community is focused on are: Establishment of a Kenyan consulate office in Dallas Development of a trade and cultural center in Dallas Enhance tourism between Kenya and America Promote sister-cities between Kenya and America Sell Kenyan image abroad

3 Board of Directors The Kenyan American Community Board of Directors are: Mr. Walter Omwenga, Princeton, Texas Kennedy Sadia, Dallas, Texas Abraham Kirwa, Allen, Texas Solomon Kimuyu, Dallas, Texas Stanley Kapten, Garland, Texas Kenyan Consulate in Dallas: The Kenyan Community in Dallas is seeking for an opportunity to partner with the government of Kenya in promoting the Kenyan image and cultural heritage in the United States. We acknowledge and support the efforts that the Brand Kenya Board is undertaking to engage the Kenyan community in Diaspora to enhance achieve and promote this goal. Dallas stands out in the USA because of its location, and its position in the entire US. The city is located right in the middle of the US with equal distance from New York, and Los Angeles. With a Kenyan population approaching 100,000 people in the Dallas area, there is a cry by the citizens of Kenyans in the Diaspora for missed opportunities, which our country could be enjoy with the establishment of a consulate office in the Dallas Area. Dallas skyline

4 Functions of the Consulate The functions of the Consulate General will be guided by the international convention on consular relations. The major functions of the Consulate General will be to further the development of commercial, economic, cultural and scientific relations between our country and other countries, including promotion of trade, tourism and investments. In the current issuing of passports and travel documents, though minimal a requirement, due to advancements in electronic technology, the nationals residing in the US need visas to travel to Kenya from Dallas, and other neighboring cities, and or States. A local consulate would be of great advantage. Why Dallas? Dallas is the third-largest city in the State of Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. As of 2009, the population of Dallas was at 1.3 million according to the US Census Bureau. The city is the largest economic center of the 12-county Dallas Fort worth Arlington metropolitan area that according to the March 2010 U.S. Census Bureau release had a population of roughly 6.5 million as of July The metropolitan area is the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Founded in 1841 and formally incorporated as a city in February, 1856, the city's economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, telecommunications, tourism, computer technology, energy and transportation, home to several Fortune 500 companies. Located in North Texas and a major city in the American South, Dallas is the core of the largest inland metropolitan area in the United States that lacks any navigable link to the sea. The city's prominence arose from its historical importance as a center for the oil and cotton industries, its position along numerous railroad lines, a strong industrial and financial sector, and its status as a major inland port (due largely to the presence of Dallas/Fort worth International Airport, one of the largest and busiest in the world). It was rated as a beta world city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network.

5 North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), is a voluntary association of, by, and for local governments, and was established to assist local governments in planning for common needs, cooperating for mutual benefit, and for coordinating for sound regional development. NCTCOG exists to serve the 360 local governments around the Dallas Area in a fifty mile radius from Dallas city center. This organization, through its planning and development, collects data that helps its affiliates, who are counties, incorporated cities, and towns, in North Central Texas. Texas. A state of the south-central United States. Showing the city of Dallas and her neighboring cities and states.

6 Facts about Dallas: Dallas is strategically located in the USA It is located in the state of Texas. Texas is ranked the second largest state in the Nation, 695,676 sq. km with a population of over 25 million, and growing. One of the busiest airport in the world DFW Airport ranked in the world (International airport), and other 239 languages of the world are spoken in North Central Texas area alone. 1, 300 companies have more than 250 employees, 4335 have employees, 9,663 have 50 employees or more, and 258,375 have less than 50. Dallas area has the highest concentration of corporate headquarters, some of the major companies in the area are: Texas Instruments, EDS, Perot Systems, Exxon Mobile, I2, Dr. Pepper, PepsiCo, JC Penny, American Airlines, Motorola, etc. The North Central Texas region has the highest arrival of immigrants. 44% of new arrivals are immigrants in the past 10 years. Tabulation for Year Total Immigrants % of Population immigrants ,030,213 1,410,574 35% ,862,479 1,944,991 40% ,561,485 2,447,053 44% ,600,000 3,724,000 49% Tourist destination John F. Kennedy assassination site in the middle of Dallas City.

7 There are thirty consulates in Dallas (Some of the consulates are honorary) Belgium Japan Ireland Belize Korea Italy Bolivia Luxemburg Jamaica Canada Mexico Taiwan Chile Monaco Thailand Costa Rica Norway Tunisia Czech Republic Peru Uganda Ecuador Romania Sweden El Salvador Spain Switzerland France Sweden The area has nine community colleges, and ten major universities with thirty seven community libraries A former president, George W. Bush lives in Dallas; he has a presidential library in Dallas. And indeed this is an ability to attract businesses to Dallas. Sports culture of Dallas; Football team The Dallas Cowboys Basketball team The Mavericks of Dallas Hockey team The stars Soccer team Dallas Soccer Team Accessible to the seaport port Houston

8 Dallas City Hall The economy of Dallas: The Dallas-Fort worth Metropolis has one of the largest concentrations of corporate headquarters for publicly traded companies in the United States. The city of Dallas has 12 Fortune 500 companies, and DFW as a whole has 23. Texas Instruments, a major manufacturer, employs 10,400 people at its corporate headquarters and chip plants in Dallas. Defense and aircraft manufacturing dominates the economy of nearby Fort Worth. In , Comerica Bank and AT&T located their headquarters in Dallas. Irving is home to four Fortune 500 companies of its own, including Exxon Mobil, the most profitable company in the world and the second largest by revenue for 2008, Kimberly-Clark, Fluor (engineering), and Commercial Metals. Additional companies headquartered in the Metropolis include Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, RadioShack, Neiman Marcus, 7-Eleven, Brinker International, AMS Pictures, id Software, ENSCO Offshore Drilling, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Chuck E. Cheese's, Zales and Fossil. Corporate headquarters in the northern suburb of Plano include HP Enterprise Services, Frito Lay, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, and JCPenney.

9 Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world's largest breast cancer organization was founded and is headquartered in Dallas. In addition to its large number of businesses, Dallas has more shopping centers per capita than any other city in the United States and is also home to the second shopping center ever built in the United States, Highland Park Village, which opened in Dallas is home of the two other major malls in North Texas, the Dallas Galleria and North Park Center, which is the 2nd largest mall in Texas. Both malls feature high-end stores and are major tourist draws for the region. The city itself is home to 15 billionaires, placing it 9th worldwide among cities with the most billionaires. The ranking does not even take into account the eight billionaires who live in the neighboring city of Fort Worth. Dallas is currently the third most popular destination for business travel in the United States, and the Dallas Convention Center is one of the largest and busiest convention centers in the country, at over 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m 2 ), and the world's single-largest column-free exhibit hall. African Chamber of Commerce The African Chamber of Commerce, Dallas, headed by Mr. Samni Akinmulero, has played an important role, in the past, in establishing relationship between Kenyan businesses and Texan businesses. In 2006 we witnessed the African Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Global Center for Business Development; send a powerful team of investors from Dallas to Nairobi. A historic bilateral agreement in a Memorandum of Understanding was signed the two cities. The Dallas economy is thriving while other cities are struggling. The mere fact that there is high population growth is indeed indicative of the fact that the economy is growing. The Kenyan American Community appreciates the passage of the New Constitution and we believe that Diaspora has a role to play in the Kenyan economy at home.

10 African Chambers of commerce in conjunction with Professor Philip Kaloki organized a one week Kenya trade mission to Dallas, Texas in April The purpose of the trade mission was to promote Kenya exports to the US Market and also enhance bilateral trade agreement between the city of Nairobi and the city of Dallas. Participants to the trade mission included; Kenya Embassy in Washington DC, Kenya Export Promotion Council, Kenya Export Processing Zones Authority, Kenya Investment Council and Kenyan Exporters. Kenya-Dallas Trade mission Conclusion In seeking to establish, promote and facilitate trade investments, commerce, tourism, cultural exchange and education exchange programs between Kenya and America. And on behalf of all Kenyan in the State of Texas, Kenyan American Community (KAC) do hereby request the Government of the Republic of Kenya to consider and grant the request of a fully functional Consulate to the Dallas Metropolis that will work towards achieving this mission.