Kenya and India are set to establish a Joint Business Council as a forum to expand trade and investments between the two countries following an agreement between Kenya's President Mr Mwai Kibaki, and India's Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.
The council will be the structured avenue for joint projects to be undertaken between the two countries and will also facilitate private investors, they said following their meeting here on the sidelines of the second Africa-India Forum Summit 2011 held in the Ethiopian capital.
Dr Singh said India would support the implementation of projects identified by Kenya under its Vision 2030 development strategy while Mr Kibaki highlighted that the development of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) is critical to employment creation in Kenya.
The President asked India to help Kenya in value-addition of primary products, especially agricultural produce.
He also noted that Kenya would benefit from Indian technology in the area of irrigation through small to medium-size dams.
Indian investment sought
Mr Kibaki said investors from India were welcome to invest in Kenya and the expanded East-African region.
Dr Singh commended Kenya for being at the forefront of regional integration, pointing out that the expanded market was attractive for investors.
At Tuesday's bilateral meeting, Kenya also asked India to allow its national carrier, Kenya Airways, to have flights to Delhi and Gujarat.
The airline currently flies only to Mumbai.