Uhuru in maiden trip to India for India-Africa Forum Summit

President Uhuru Kenyatta has arrived in New Delhi for his maiden visit to India that will see him hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attend the third India-Africa Forum Summit.

On arrival, President Kenyatta was accorded an elaborate reception that included the traditional Indian red dot decoration.

The president will kick off the visit – expected to boost technical and economic cooperation between Kenya and India – with a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi before addressing a business forum for top-notch entrepreneurs on Wednesday.

He will join other African Heads of State and Government for the highest level of the third India-Africa Forum Summit where he will deliver his address. The summit is held at three levels –senior officials, ministerial and the premier Heads of State and Government level.

Launched in 2008, the India-Africa Forum is a strategic partnership aimed at revamping cooperation between India and African countries. It focuses on political, economic and socio-cultural development for the mutual benefit of the people of Africa and India.

The first and second India-Africa Forum Summits were held in New Delhi in April 2008 and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in May 2011 respectively.

The 3^rd India-Africa Forum Summit – whose theme is “Partners in Progress: Towards a Dynamic and Transformative Development Agenda” – is expected to adopt an Africa-India framework for strategic cooperation.

One of Kenya’s gains from the India-Africa cooperation is the offer of post-graduate scholarships in agriculture by India.

Kenya has also benefitted from India’s lines of credit to African countries implemented under the first Africa-India Plan of Action (2010-2013) that was launched in New Delhi on March 10, 2013.

On Friday, the president will attend a high level meeting on anti-retroviral therapy in Africa as he concludes his visit to India. The meeting will discuss ways of ensuring access to lifesaving medicine to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.