Press Releases Visit of Hon'ble Speaker of Lok Sabha, Mr Om Birla to Kenya 16-18 January 2023

Visit of Hon'ble Speaker of Lok Sabha, Mr Om Birla to Kenya 16-18 January 2023

High Commission of India

Nairobi

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Press Release 

            Visit of Hon'ble Speaker of Lok Sabha, Mr Om Birla to Kenya 16-18 January 2023

            Hon'ble Speaker of Lok Sabha, Mr Om Birla paid an official visit to Kenya on 16-18 January at the invitation of Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya, Hon'ble Mr Moses M. Wetang'ula. Speaker Birla was accompanied by three Members of Parliament from India, Mr Chirag Paswan, Mr Manojkumar Kotak and Ms Phangnon Konyak.

            During the visit, Speaker Birla held meetings with his counterpart, Hon’ble Mr. Moses Wetang'ula and the Speaker of Senate, Hon'ble Mr Amason Jeffah Kingi. Both sides were joined by Members of Parliament and had a wide-ranging discussion on enhancing parliamentary cooperation between the two countries. In this context, they agreed to take forward parliamentary exchanges and training of parliamentarians and parliamentary staffs in India. Speaker Birla invited a parliamentary delegation to India.

            Hon'ble Speaker paid courtesy calls on the President of Kenya HE Dr William Samoei Ruto and the Deputy President of Kenya HE Mr Rigathi Gachagua. Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Dr Alfred N Mutua paid a coutersy call on Speaker Birla. During these meetings, both sides exchanged views on the existing strong connections between the two countries and the opportunities to further accelerate cooperation in priority sectors like education, healthcare, SMEs, infrastructure development, technology, agriculture, capacity building, and tackling climate change. Under bilateral development cooperation, India has already extended four Lines of Credit amounting to USD 206 million to Kenya in agriculture, power, and SMEs. The positive contribution of the Indian origin community in Kenya was also recognized by both sides during the meetings.

            Hon'ble Speaker visited the University of Nairobi and paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at his statue inside the campus. He also planted a tree on the campus premises. Thereafter, he addressed students at the University on the theme of Parliamentary democracy. Speaker Birla also gifted 75 books on India and the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi in electronic format including 100 volumes of Gandhi's writing to the Mahatma Gandhi Library in the University, coinciding with the 75 years of India's independence - Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. A separate interaction with Kenyan alumni who have studied in India was also held at the University that highlighted the rich and long standing educational exchanges between both the countries.

            During his stay in Nairobi, Hon'ble Speaker also interacted with members of Indian community and diaspora. He praised their contribution to the host country as well as their role as connecting bridge fostering friendship between India and Kenya.

            After conclusion of his two-day visit, Speaker Birla left Kenya on 18th January.

Nairobi

18.01.2023

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