Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula on Monday hosted Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov who is in the country on a working visit.
Moscow’s top diplomat paid visited the Speaker at his office in Parliament Buildings, Nairobi.
Lavrov is expected to meet President William Ruto and other top State officials, before heading to South Africa for a BRICS meeting.
BRICS is a group of nations including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Wetang’ula said Kenya and Russia have had longstanding warm and cordial ties since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1963.
“We had a lengthy discussion on a myriad of issues touching on bilateral, multilateral, and regional matters aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries,” he said on Twitter.
The Speaker further said they discussed Kenya's participation at the forthcoming Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum slated for July in St. Petersburg.
“The summit aims to provide a new constructive impetus to the development of Russia’s multifaceted relations with African countries and bolster the policy of a comprehensive and equal partnership with the African people,” he said.
Wetang’ula promised to strengthen the relationship between the two Houses of Parliament through exchange programmes, sharing of experiences, values and technological advancement.
He noted that Kenya is one of the largest trading partners of Russia in Africa but the full potential of the economic cooperation remains untapped.
He said there is a need to identify ways of improving trade between the two countries, which currently is in favour of Russia.
“We discussed how we can boost the existing areas of cooperation that include education, trade, agriculture, tourism, health, science and technology among others,” he stated.
Russia has been on a charm offensive on the continent following isolation and sanctions imposed by Western countries.
The visit comes just days after Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba ended his tour of Africa, urging member states to end their neutrality over the Russian war in Ukraine.
