India is committed to take its relationship with Kenya to a new level and is looking forward to being a reliable partner in Kenya's quest for growth, said Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday.
Participating in the seventh Joint Trade Committee meeting held between delegations of the two nations here, Sitharaman said that she was happy to note that both sides have agreed for enhanced cooperation in the fields of bilateral investment, infrastructure, SMEs, agriculture, health, energy, skill development and entrepreneurship, pharmaceuticals and tourism.
She said that Kenya offers a very attractive trade destination for India which is reflected in the number of Indian trade delegations visiting Kenya in 2014.
"This year also Indian delegations are looking forward to their participation in fairs in Kenya being organized by various chambers of commerce and other bodies. I hope that trade delegations from Kenya would also take advantage of several opportunities to visit India. I am delighted that a large number of Indian companies are present in Kenya, including the Tata group, Essar, Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel. Indian public sector banks - Bank of Baroda and Bank of India, and public sector insurance companies - New India Assurance, Life Insurance Corporation of India, and General Insurance Corporation have operations in Kenya," she said.
"In fact, GIC and other public sector insurance companies hold 60% shares in KenIndia, one of the larger Kenyan insurance companies. Kenya is an important partner for India and the presence of Indian companies is a clear indication of complementarities of our two economies. I sincerely hope that Kenyan companies would also explore possibilities of investing in India," she added.
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Sitharaman also made a mention of the 'Make in India' initiative announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2014, which she revealed is designed to facilitate investment, foster innovation, enhance skill-development and build the best manufacturing infrastructure.
"The present government is committed to make India one of the best places to manufacture and to do business. The government aims to develop industrial corridors and smart cities to provide working environment with state-of-the-art technology," she said.
"The government has also achieved significant success in the fields of financial inclusion through the Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar - the unique individual identification number for every citizen and the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme. India is focusing on enterprise and skill development too. These are the areas which I feel would also be of interest to a progressive economy like Kenya. India would be happy to share the knowledge and experience in these areas of mutual interest," she added.
The India-Kenya Joint Trade Committee meeting was held here today. The Indian side was led by Nirmala Sitharaman, while the Kenyan delegation was led by Ambassador Amina C. Mohamed, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
The two sides reviewed the bilateral trade and reiterated their commitment towards strengthening mutually beneficial relationship between the two friendly nations.
A senior officers' meeting was held on February 11 to deliberate on a plethora of issues.
The two sides had intensive discussions and agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of bilateral investment, infrastructure, SMEs, agriculture, health, energy, skill development and entrepreneurship, pharmaceuticals and tourism.
Both sides agreed to meet more often to ensure enhancement of bilateral trade and mutual cooperation and announced that the next meeting of the joint trade committee would be held in Nairobi.
