The Kenyan government said on Wednesday it was determined to host the 2010 World Economic Forum on Africa.

Speaking during a meeting with visiting Head of Africa Division of the World Economic Forum Catherine Tweedie in Nairobi, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the country has adequate facilities to host about 700 participants expected at the forum next year.

He said Kenya is capable of providing security, protocol, medical services and convention facilities that the forum requires.

"We are very eager to host this forum. We have all that it takes to host it. After all, we have been hosting the biggest UN station outside New York and Geneva," Odinga said.

The 2008 World Economic Forum was held in South Africa, which will once again play host to the forum in June.

"If there is one reason why South Africa must not host this forum next year, it is because it will be hosting the World Cup. We have strong credentials. We are just coming out of a crisis and this forum would be good for us to show the world that we have put the worst behind us," the prime minister said.

"We have a vibrant business sector just like South Africa. We are the leaders in this region. Nairobi is by all counts the hub outside South Africa," he added.

At the meeting, Tweedie assured Odinga of her support but asked the government to write a formal request detailing how it would raise funds for the forum.

"I agree that the Forum has been domiciled in South Africa for sometime and if we want to make it a truly African affair, we need to host it in other regions," she said.

The prime minister said he had written a formal letter last year to the forum, but would write again this time detailing funding for the conference.

Odinga expressed confidence that Kenya's business sector would be willing to raise funds for the conference which would showcase the country.

South Africa, he said, spent about one million U.S. dollars on the conference, an amount Kenya could raise.

Source: Xinhua