World Bulletin / News Desk 

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Thursday held talks with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and other government officials aimed at bolstering bilateral trade relations.

"I came to Kenya to promote business and trade," Hammond told reporters.

"Kenya has more than 20,000 British nationals living here. The highest number of tourists in Kenya also come from the U.K. every year," he said.

Hammond was hopeful that, through discussions with Kenyan officials, "We will be able to work more closely together and overcome many challenges."

"Deeper collaboration will help in many other areas, including creating a suitable business environment, which will see the lifting of the travel advisories," the British diplomat added.

In June of last year, Britain issued advisories against travelling to Kenya while British citizens were evacuated from Kenya's resort city of Mombasa.

The advisories are still in effect, but they have been relaxed, with capital Nairobi having been removed from the list of places that Britons are advised to avoid.

After agriculture, tourism represents Kenya's second biggest foreign currency earner.

Kenyan Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed, for her part, said the East African country no longer faced security challenges.

"It is our conviction that terrorism is a global challenge," she told reporters. "We are ready to be ahead of the curve and improve our security to even better levels."

Secretary Hammond, meanwhile, said he would meet with Kenyan and British businessmen with a view to tackling the issue of corruption.

"Corruption is damaging to the economy. Most times, it is ordinary citizens that tend to suffer more from the effects of practicing corruption," he noted.

"It corruption deters investment and we are delighted that President Kenyatta has set 2015 as a year in which Kenya will defeat corruption, because defeating the vice will open the gates to investment and business as never seen before," the British diplomat asserted.

He went on to voice the belief that a corruption-free Kenya would enjoy enhanced economic growth that would lead to more jobs for its citizens.