Kenya and Indonesia have agreed on a Letter of Intent for cooperation in livestock and animal health within the Government to Government (G-to-G) framework.
They have also encouraged the completion of a bilateral defense cooperation document and to start Preferential Trade Agreement negotiations to promote trade relations between the two countries.
This following a meeting between the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and the Kenyan President, William Ruto, at the State House of Kenya.
During the visit, Coordinating Minister Luhut led a delegation of high-ranking officials from Ministries and Institutions and state-owned and private companies.
The visit, which serves as preparation for President Joko Widodo’s visit to Kenya in August, agreed on several matters within the Government to Government (G-to-G) and Business to Business (B-to-B) frameworks.
“We believe that the many potentials, both in G-to-G and B-to-B, are significant in strengthening relations between our two countries,” Minister Luhut explains.
The visit, which was arranged in a two-day business forum, resulted in some deliverables, including Pertamina’s investment plans in the upstream oil and gas industry and the geothermal sector, plans for cooperation between Bio Farma and Kenyan SOE on vaccines, plans for the distribution cooperation of Combiphar with Kenyan local partners, plans for livestock imports, plans for investment by Indonesian textile companies in Kenya, and plans for cooperation in the oil palm sector.
Coordinating Minister Luhut explained that Kenya has a very strategic location as a vital commodity hub with high economic value to a broader market with more than 300 million people in countries around Kenya, such as Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, DRC, and many more.
In addition to meeting with President Ruto, Coordinating Minister Luhut also held meetings with Kenyan ministerial-level officials, namely the Cabinet Secretary for Investment, Trade and Industry, the Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum, the Cabinet Secretary for Defense, and several other high-ranking officials.
This visit also symbolizes the spirit of Bandung in 1955, which led to the decolonization of Kenya and is historical evidence of the struggle for independence together.
