NAIROBI, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said Tuesday the inauguration of the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA) will help spur investments into the East African nation.
Kenyatta told the first International Arbitration Conference in East and Central Africa, which kicked off in the capital Nairobi on Tuesday, that dispute resolution mechanisms were critical component of the economic development agenda that the country and the continent is pursuing.
"The inauguration of the NCIA today will mark another milestone in a journey to transform the way we do business in Kenya," he said in a speech read on his behalf by Treasury Cabinet Secretary, Henry Rotich.
"We are committed to transforming the lives of our people and the realization of the final agenda for Africa's emancipation and rapid sustainable development," the president said in the speech.
The two-day conference brings together more than 500 international arbitration practitioners to discuss current and topical developments in international commercial arbitration.
The conference also saw the inauguration of the NCIA, as Kenya continues to rise as Africa's preferred destination for trade and investment.
Arbitration is one of several alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, mainly used in speedy settlement of commercial disputes, especially those involving regional and international investors.
It involves the use of an arbitrator agreed upon by the parties or appointed with their concurrence, instead of a court judge, in deciding their dispute. The arbitrator's decision is enforced in the same way as a judgment of the court.
Kenyatta said that Kenya was a trajectory of reform and development with rapid rise of foreign investments in infrastructure and the extractive industry through the public-private partnerships.
He reiterated the need for Africa to embrace alternative dispute resolution mechanisms instead of seeking the court processes as the arbiter of conflicts.
