- Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Defence Aden Bare Duale on three-day visit
By India Strategic Correspondent
NEW DELHI, August 28 Defence relations between maritime neighbours, India and Kenya will receive a boost during the three-day visit of Cabinet Secretary for Defence Mr. Aden Bare Duale starting August 28.
The visiting dignitary will hold talks with Defence Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh on August 29 and is scheduled to pay a visit to Indian shipyards and defence industries in Goa and Bengaluru.
Mr Duale’s visit is the highest-level stand-alone political visit from the African country since a new government assumed office in September last year. It reflects the importance India attaches to its relations with countries in the continent and its growing cooperation with Kenya.
The State visit of PM Narendra Modi to Kenya in July, 2016 gave a new impetus to the bilateral relationship and among others, PM Modi and President Uhuru Kenyatta witnessed signing of several MoU/Agreements including in the field of Defence. On the occasion, PM Modi handed over 30 field ambulances for the use of Kenyan Defence Forces.
Last year in November, the first-ever India Kenya Defence Industry seminar and expo was held in Nairobi. Over 25 companies from both public and private Indian defence industries took part in the two-day event.
According to the Indian Mission in Nairobi, the Indian companies covered a diverse spectrum of areas in defence manufacturing and showcased the expanse of India’s domestic defence manufacturing capability. Various initiatives of the Government of India to boost the ecosystem and promote indigenisation were also shared.
Apart from giving a presentation to the larger audience, breakout sessions were conducted in smaller groups to facilitate more detailed discussions between the stakeholders over the two days.
The event was preceded by the Second Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting from November 8-9, 2022. During the meeting both sides reviewed the progress made in military-to-military engagements, including joint exercises, training, high-level visits, Experts exchanges, industry cooperation and cooperation in the field of Research and Development. (EOM)
