Omkar Dattatray
India-Kenya relations are bilateral diplomatic relations between the Republic of India and the Republic of Kenya .As littoral states of the Indian ocean ,trade links and commercial ties between India and Kenya go back several centuries .Kenya has a large minority of Indians and persons of Indian origin living there who are the descendents of laborers who were brought in by the British to construct the Uganda railways .Given deteriorating race relations between Indians, and Kenyans J.L.Nehru appointed the senior diplomat Apa Pant as High commissioner to Kenya and asked Indians living there to mix with the Kenyan people and slowly and steadily the relations between the two countries developed and today our bilateral relations are based on solid foundations because there are so many similarities between the two states .The PM Modi had embarked on the relations between India and Kenya in 2016 and cemented further ties between the two countries which share same concerns and views on a host of bilateral issues .Presently Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto is on a visit to India from December 4to 6 on the invitation of president Droupadi Murmu .He is accompanied by a high level official delegation. The visit comes as Mr Ruto’s first to India in his present capacity .During his visit Ruto met president Murmu and had a guard of honor at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on 5th December .He was given a state Banquet by president Murmu .Kenyan president held detailed discussions with prime minister Narendra Modi and he also participated in a business and investment event in New Delhi .A presidential visit from Kenya is taking place after a period of six years and it is expected to strengthen and invigorate the bilateral relations between the two countries .Kenyan president William Ruto termed his countries ties with India fantastic and thanked PM Modi for making sure that the African Union (AU) becomes a permanent member of the G20.He said ,”India has made a very huge contribution .We want to thank Prime minister Narendra Modi for making sure that Africa became a permanent member of G20 during his presidency .And we will be having further conversations with him .India and Keya signed five bilateral agreements to boost the mutual ties between the two countries .The five agreements signed by the two sides included a memorandum of understanding -MOU on sharing successful solutions for digital transformation ,an MOU between Indira Gandhi National Open University and the Open University of Kenya ,an agreement on cultural exchange for period 2023-27 are the agreements signed between the two countries and these agreements will go a long way to boost and strengthen the bilateral ties between the two countries .India extends dollar 250 million line of credit to Kenya ,besides signing five significant agreements and all this will bolster the bilateral ties between India and Kenya .The bilateral trade between the two countries is valued at dollar 3.3 billion with Indian exports making up a significant part of the figure ,while Indian investments in Kenya were worth dollar 3.2 billion .India and Kenya decided to bolster cooperation in health and agriculture ,including an Indian line of credit of dollar 250 million to modernize farming in the African country, even as the two sides signed five agreements in areas ranging from education to digital transformation .India and Kenya are maritime neighbors .The contemporary ties between India and Kenya have now evolved into a robust and multifaceted partnership ,marked by regular high -level visits ,increasing trade and investment as well as extensive people to people contacts .The state visit of PM Narendra Modi to Kenya on 10-11 July gave a new impetus to bilateral partnerships.PM Modi and president Uhuru Kenyatta discussed a wide range of bilateral issues .India ,Kenya inked 5 pacts and India announced dollar 250 million LOC for Kenyan agriculture sector .India announced a USD 250 million line of credit to Kenya for modernization of its agricultural sector as PM Modi and Kenyan president William Samoei Ruto agreed to shore up bilateral ties in areas of defense ,trade ,energy ,digital public infrastructure and healthcare .In a pivotal visit by the president of Kenya,William Samoei Ruto ,to India ,both countries have solidified their longstanding relationship through a series of five Memoranda of Understanding-MOU’s and strategic cooperation spanning diverse sectors ,said Dammu Ravi ,secretary (ER) of the ministry of external affairs ,while giving insightful remarks on the significant outcomes of President Ruto’s visit .Agriculture and education took centre stage as an intriguing development emerged after Kenya expressed its intention to offer agricultural farmland to Indian companies aiming to promote farming activities in the region .Interestingly ,the Kenyan side has expressed interest in offering to India agriculture farmland for farming purposes ,to be able to encourage Indian companies to go there and do farming .Simultaneously ,MOU’s were inked between the open universities of both nations ,igniting a collaborative effort in the field of education .
These agreements set the stage for multifaceted exchange that encompasses cultural ,sports ,digital solutions, and digital transformation initiatives. ”Education is another area .The open universities of both sides ,IGNO and Kenyan open university ,have entered into a MOU .Space is another area of cooperation .So there are the five MOU’s that have been signed. ”said the MEA Secretary. Kenyas keen interest in learning from India extends to the fintech space with specific focus on UPI and Aadhaar.
The health sector emerged as a significant area of cooperation ,with discussions ranging from medical expertise exchanges to collaborative efforts in traditional medicine.
They have expressed interest in having greater cooperation ,particularly with Indian specialist doctors visiting those countries ,and in turn they would like to have longer stay for their specialists ,nurses and medical doctors to come to India to learn from us.
Traditional medicines also figured very strongly in the bilateral talks.PM Modi says close ties between Kenya and India will strengthen all our efforts in the Indo-Pacific.
Approximately 80000 people of Indian origin in Kenya ,who consider that country as their second home ,are the biggest strength of the ties.
India announced a dollar 250 million line of credit to Kenya for modernization of its agricultural sector as PM Modi and visiting Kenyan president Ruto agreed to strengthen bilateral ties in the field of defense ,trade, energy, digital public infrastructure and healthcare .After Modi-Ruto talks ,the two sides signed five pacts providing for cooperation in a range of areas including sports ,education and digital solution and unveiled a joint vision document to scale up maritime engagements in the Indian ocean.
India also raised the issue of two Indian nationals who went missing in the east African country in July last year. After talks ,Modi said India has been a reliable and committed development partner for Kenya and that New Delhi is fully prepared to share its achievements in digital public infrastructure with east African country .Thus it follows that the relations between India and Kenya are strengthening with the active participation of these two countries and in the near future will bolster the ties between India and Kenya.
(The author is a columnist,
social and KP activist).
