India-Kenya Commercial Relations

Bilateral Trade:

India is one of Kenya’s top trading partners with the trade relations encompassing various sectors of the economy. According to data from the Department of Commerce, Government of India, the value of trade in FY 2023-24 stood at US$ 3.351 billion. Of this, the value of Indian exports to Kenya was US$ 3.175 billion while that of imports from Kenya to India was US$ 176.34 million. Main Indian exports to Kenya in the period included petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, machinery, cereals, sugars & confectionery, plastics & articles, vehicles, electrical machinery & equipment, organic chemicals and paper & paperboard. Main Kenyan exports to India on the other hand were tea, coffee, soda ash, edible vegetables, copper and articles, fertilisers, metal scrap, miscellaneous chemical products, lead and articles and zinc and articles. The following table summarizes the bilateral trade figures.

(Source: Department of Commerce, India, Figures in USD million)

An India-Kenya Trade Agreement was signed in 1981, under which both countries accorded Most Favoured Nation status to each other. The India-Kenya Joint Trade Committee (JTC) was set up at Ministerial level in 1983 as a follow-up to the Agreement. The JTC has met nine times since, the last in August 2019 in New Delhi in which then Cabinet Secretary (Minister) of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Mr. Peter Munya co-chaired the meeting with the Commerce and Industry Minister (CIM) of India Mr. Piyush Goyal. CIM Mr. Goyal, along with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar held a video conference meeting in April 2020 to explore opportunities to promote Indian exports. The 10^th meeting of India-Kenya JTC has been proposed for 10-12 September 2024 in Kenya.

Hon’ble Eliud Owalo, Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communication and the Digital Economy, Government of Kenya led a delegation of Kenyan Government officials to the Global Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Summit organized by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India from 12-13 June, 2023 in Pune. Hon'ble Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India (GoI), Shri. V. Muraleedharan paid an official visit to Kenya from 20-23 November 2023 and was accompanied by a 30 member business delegation. Hon'ble Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India (GoI), Shri. V. Muraleedharan paid an official visit to Kenya from 20-23 November 2023 and was accompanied by a 30 member business delegation.

Hon’ble Shri. Dammu Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India (GoI) led a large delegation comprising officials from Ministry of Agriculture, business chambers and 25 Indian agricultural companies and institutions on visit to Kenya from 10-12 April 2024 to explore opportunities in Kenya’s agriculture sector. The visit was in fulfillment of the decision taken in the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President of Kenya, during his State Visit to India from 04-06 December 2023. Among the delegation was Mr. Puneet Kundal, Additional Secretary, MEA, GoI, Dr. Praveen Kumar Singh, Agriculture Commissioner, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, GoI Dr. Sharat Kumar Pradhan, Assistant Director General, Food and Fodder Crops, Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, GoI. In the context of the delegation, High Commission of India, Nairobi and Agriculture Sector Network (ASNET) hosted the India-Kenya Agriculture Business Forum on 10 April 2024 at Nairobi Serena Hotel.