Africa-Press – Kenya. Kenya and India have signalled a significant upgrade of their bilateral ties following the third round of Kenya-India Foreign Office Consultations in Nairobi.
Following the high-level meeting on February 3, the two sides outlined plans that deepen and extend cooperation beyond traditional areas of engagement.
While such consultations are routine diplomatic engagements, the outcomes and emphasis from Nairobi and New Delhi point to a more structured and multi-sector partnership.
In a statement, India’s External Affairs ministry said both sides comprehensively reviewed bilateral ties across diverse sectors.
These include political, trade and investments, defence and security cooperation, digital public infrastructure, development cooperation, agriculture, health, culture and people-to-people ties.
“It was agreed to organise meetings of the Joint Commission, Joint Trade Committee and Joint Working Group on Agriculture at an early date,” the ministry added.
These are the formal mechanisms used to implement and monitor cooperation agreements rather than simply discuss policy.
The consultations were co-chaired by Ambassador Jane Makori, deputy director general in the Asia and Pacific Directorate, and Shri Kain, India’s Joint Secretary for East and Southern Africa at the Ministry of External Affairs.
In its statement, Kenya highlighted the “shared commitment to strengthen and deepen long-standing, warm and cordial bilateral relations”.
The State Department of Foreign Affairs said the talks reviewed ongoing programmes, assessed progress from previous high-level visits and deliberated on the way forward.
Diplomatic observers say the decision to activate these platforms signals a shift from general diplomatic engagement to execution-focused commercial collaboration.
“This shows they are moving from statements of intent to structured implementation,” Prof Macharia Munene said.
“The Joint Commission and trade mechanisms are where real deliverables are negotiated.”
Shri Kain paid a courtesy call on Trade PS Regina Ombam. They discussed strengthening trade and investment ties and ways to further expand bilateral economic engagement.
“Shri Kain highlighted Kenya as a key strategic partner for India in Africa and the Global South,” the Trade State Department said.
“He added that Kenya and India share development goals and expressed optimism that deeper economic cooperation would drive mutual growth and improve livelihoods in both countries.”
Both sides expressed commitment to strengthening cooperation in trade, investment and other priority areas.
In recent years, the two states have sought to diversify their economic partnerships.
For instance, India has been pushing to increase its exports to Kenya, with an eye on the textile sector.
A delegation of 18 leading silk and textile officials from the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council (ISEPC) visited Nairobi from October 6-7 to showcase the richness, versatility and craftsmanship of Indian silk.
Indian High Commissioner Adarsh Swaika inaugurated the Mega Silk Exhibition-cum-Buyer Seller Meet organised by ISEPC in Nairobi.
The India High Commission said the meeting aimed to promote direct engagement between Indian silk exporters and Kenyan importers and retailers.
The mission added that the engagement is also expected to strengthen trade and business linkages in the textile and apparel sectors.
Another of the most notable areas mentioned by India is cooperation in digital public infrastructure.
India has exported its digital governance model, including digital identity systems and payment platforms, to several developing countries as part of its Global South diplomacy.
Kenya’s interest in this area aligns with its own push toward digital governance and technology-driven public services.
