- Speaker Birla led a delegation of three MPs from India for a two-day visit between January 16-18 at the invitation of Speaker Moses Wetang'ula.
- The Speaker also met President William Ruto, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Foreign Affairs CS Alfred Mutua.
Kenya and India have agreed to parliamentary exchanges and training of MPs in India.
This followed talks between India's Speaker of Lok Sabha (Lower House) Om Birla and Kenyan officials in Nairobi on Tuesday.
Speaker Birla led a delegation of three MPs from India for a two-day visit between January 16-18 at the invitation of Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang'ula.
The three MPs from India were Chirag Paswan, Manojkumar Kotak and Phangnon Konyak.
During the visit, Speaker Birla, among the influential leaders in India, met both speakers of Parliament, Wetangúla and Senate's Amason Kingi.
Birla was also granted an audience by the Executive, meeting President William Ruto, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Foreign Affairs CS Alfred Mutua.
"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," India High Commission said in a statement on Wednesday.
During the meetings, both sides exchanged views on the existing strong connections between the two states and the opportunities to further accelerate cooperation in priority sectors such as education, healthcare, SMEs, infrastructure development, technology, agriculture, capacity building and tackling climate change.
Under bilateral development cooperation, India has extended $206 million to Kenya in agriculture, power and SMEs.
President Ruto said Kenya and India have shared interests in promoting global stability and economic prosperity through investment and trade.
"We look forward to working together to advance international peace, tackling climate change and deepening economic ties for the prosperity of the people," the President said after their meeting at State House.
DP Gachagua said his talks with the delegation centred on deepening ties between the two states.
"We deliberated on direct investments to Kenya, especially in medical research, agriculture, defence and IT as we seek to grow these sectors to increase job opportunities for our youth, as envisioned in the Kenya Kwanza Plan, "Gachagua said.
He said India is a strategic partner to Kenya because of its advancement in technology, medical research, agriculture, and defence, among others, adding that it is the second largest investor in Kenya with a value of about $3.5 Billion.
In their earlier meeting on Monday, CS Mutua called for medical technological transfer and invited Indian hospitals to set up in Kenya and offer quality medical care to Kenya and the region at large in a bid to strengthen bilateral relations.
The CS also lobbied the Speaker for India's support to Ambassador Nancy Karingithu for the election as International Maritime Organization Secretary General.
He urged India to import agricultural produce such as mangoes and avocados from Kenya.
The Indian delegation also visited the University of Nairobi and also met Indian diaspora in Kenya.
At UoN, the visiting speaker gave a speech on Parliamentary democracy and donated 75 books on India and the collected works of Mahatma Gandhi in electronic format.
A separate interaction with Kenyan alumni who have studied in India was also held at the University.