India's external affairs minister to visit Tanzania and Kenya
What you need to know:
- The visit to the East African nations is expected to strengthen bilateral relations with the host countries.
Dar-es-Salaam. India’s Minister of State (MoS) for External and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri. V. Muraleedharan, commences a four-day official visit to Tanzania and Kenya.
Mr Shri will be on Tanzanian soil between November 20 and November 21, 2023, before proceeding to neighbouring Kenya from November 22 to November 22, this year.
The visit to the East African nations is expected to strengthen bilateral relations with the host countries.
In a statement issued by the Indian government in New Delhi on Sunday, November 19, 2023, Mr Shri will be accompanied by a delegation of 30 Indian businesspeople.
“MoS will first visit Zanzibar, where he is expected to pay a courtesy call on President Hussein Ali Mwinyi and also hold discussions with other ministers,” reads part of the statement.
The statement further says that the Indian minister will also visit the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras Campus that has been set up in Zanzibar.
Thereafter, he will travel to Dar-es-Salaam for bilateral discussions with the leadership of Tanzania, according to the statement.
“He will also chair a business meeting alongside his Tanzanian counterpart. The meeting brings together the Indian business delegation and their Tanzanian counterparts with an objective of increasing bilateral trade and investment flows between the two countries,” reads part of the statement.
Mr Shri is also expected to interact with the Indian community residing and carrying out businesses in Dar-es-Salaam.
In Kenya, the visiting minister will make a courtesy call on the top country’s leadership and co-chair the Kenya-India business meeting jointly organised with the Kenyan government.
According to the statement, the minister is also expected to meet several ministers and other executives in the Kenyan government.
“He will also visit the University of Nairobi and interact with the Indian diaspora living in Kenya. The minister will also inaugurate an exhibition in commemoration of the role played by Indian soldiers in East Africa during World War I,” reads part of the statement.
Both countries have a bilateral trade worth $6.4 billion, of which India's exports to East African countries amounted to $3.9 billion while imports stood at $2.4 billion in the years 2022–23.
India is the fifth-largest investor in Tanzania, with about $3.7 billion in investments in a wide range of sectors.
