The Asian giant’s policies aimed at strengthening its position in the Horn of Africa quadrant continue. The bilateral meeting held in Nairobi between Kenya’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Omamo, and his Indian counterpart, Jaishankar, resulted in a joint statement by the two countries that ranged over numerous issues relating to Kenya’s domestic and foreign policy.
Kenya is a well-established ally of India and has long been part of the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), which is pursued with partner countries through bilateral or multilateral agreements for a common policy on numerous issues such as maritime security, Blue Economy, maritime connectivity, disaster management and capacity building.
Monday’s meeting saw the theme of a common counter-terrorism policy in the Indian Ocean prevail, which is important for Kenya also in light of the improved piracy conditions in the African country’s waters.
However, the meeting also focused on the issue of shared pandemic management and the strengthening of economic ties between the two countries. On the pandemic issue, the two countries affirmed their willingness to adopt a common policy in pandemic and post-pandemic management and reiterated the need to make the distribution of vaccines fair and accessible to all countries.
Economically, Kenya’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) already comes largely from India. The meeting showed a willingness to increase this already positive figure by expanding investment sectors, which will be discussed in more detail at the 10th Joint Trade Committee (JTC) between the two countries.
