Kenyan President William Ruto's Visit To India: Five MoUs Signed

Kenyan President William Samoa Ruto arrived in New Delhi on December 4 on a three-day visit to India (4 to 6 December 2023) at the invitation of the President of India. It is President Ruto's first visit to India. 

• On 5 December, President William Ruto and Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed bilateral cooperation covering wide-ranging areas of mutual interest.

Five MoUs signed between the two countries:

1. Cooperation between the two countries in sports
2. Cooperation in the field of sharing successful digital solutions implemented at the population level for digital transformation
3. Culture Exchange Program between the two countries for the period 2023-27
4. MoU between the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Kenyan Bureau of Standards (KEBS)
5. MoU between Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and Open University of Kenya (OUK)

Other announcements made during President Ruto's visit:

• The two countries unveiled the “Joint Vision Statement on Maritime Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region – BAHARI (Ocean in Swahili)” as a blueprint for scaling up.
• Kenya is joining the International Solar Alliance (ISA)
• Kenya is joining the Global Bio-fuels Alliance (GBA)
• India will provide a loan of  US$ 250 million to Kenya for the modernisation of its agricultural sector.
• ISRO will train 20 space scientists of the Kenya Space Agency (KSA)/the University of Nairobi at ISRO.
• India also agreed to share expertise on space-based applications with Kenya to learn from India's experience in space technology.
• The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has announced to increase the scholarship slots for Kenyan students from 48 to 80 annually.
• Both leaders welcomed the opening of the Indian market to Kenyan avocados as a positive step.

Republic of Kenya:

It is an East African Country lying along the coast of the Indian Ocean.

It borders Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa and the source of the river Nile.

River Nile is the longest river in the world.

• Capital: Nairobi
• Currency: Kenyan Shilling
• President: William Samoei Ruto