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 India |  Kenya |
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India–Kenya relations are bilateraldiplomatic relations between theRepublic of India and theRepublic of Kenya.
As littoral states of theIndian Ocean, trade links and commercial ties between India and Kenya go back several centuries. Kenya hasa large minority of Indians andPersons of Indian Origin living there who are descendants of labourers who were brought in by the British to construct theUganda Railway.[1] Prior toIndia's independence, the welfare of Indians inSoutheast Africa gained the attention ofIndian freedom fighters.Sarojini Naidu chaired theMombasa session of the East African Indian Congress in 1924 and a fact-finding mission underK.P.S. Menon was sent there in 1934. After India's independence, it established an Office of the Commissioner forBritish East Africa resident inNairobi in 1948.[2] Given deteriorating race relations between Indians and Kenyans,Jawaharlal Nehru appointed the senior diplomatApa Pant as High Commissioner to Kenya. Nehru also gave support toJomo Kenyatta and theKenya African National Union party, asking Indians in Kenya to identify themselves with the locals.[3] Despite worsening race relations in Kenya that led to the exodus of Asians there to India andBritain, economic cooperation between India and Kenya flourished and became an exemplar ofSouth-South cooperation.[4]FollowingKenyan independence in 1963, an Indian High Commission was established in Nairobi
Kenya and India are members of international fora likeUnited Nations,Non-Aligned Movement,Commonwealth of Nations,G-77 andG-15 and theIndian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation and often cooperate with each other on these fora.[5]
India and Kenya have growing trade and commercial ties. Bilateral trade amounted to $2.4 billion in 2010–2011 but with Kenyan imports from India accounting for $2.3 billion, thebalance of trade was heavily in India's favour. India is Kenya's sixth largest trading partner and the largest exporter to Kenya. Indian exports to Kenya includepharmaceuticals,steel, machinery andautomobiles while Kenyan exports to India are largely primary commodities such assoda ash, vegetables andtea. Indian companies have a significant presence in Kenya with Indian corporates like theTata Group,Essar,Reliance Industries andBharti Airtel operating there. The Indianpublic sector banksBank of Baroda andBank of India have operations in Kenya.[6][7][8] Kenya has been trying to promote itself as a tourist destination in India. However air connectivity between the two countries is limited and is provided byKenya Airways between Mumbai and Delhi to Nairobi. Services to Nairobi, which wasAir India's second international destination, begun in 1951 was finally shut down by the airline in 2010.[2][9][10] However, Air India has restarted flights on the Mumbai-Nairobi route since November 2019.[11]
India offers 101 fully funded scholarships for Kenyans annually under itsIndian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme for training them in technical skills. TheExim Bank of India has provided Kenya with a loan of $61 million for overhauling its national power grid.[12] India'sPan-African e-Network project seeks to make available teleeducation andtelemedicine facilities to African countries including Kenya. Indian investments in Kenya are now worth $1.5 billion and India's pharmaceutical exports have played a key role in making essential drugs available at affordable prices in Kenya.[13]
In March 2021, India gave one hundred thousand Covid-19 vaccines to Kenya on grant.[16] Kenya donated 12 tonnes of tea, coffee and nuts to India for Covid-19 relief efforts during India's second wave Covid-19 crisis.[17]
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