Kenyan President William Ruto accorded ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan

Kenyan President William Ruto was on Tuesday accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupaid Murmu welcomed the Kenyan President at Rashtrapati Bhavan. He also inspected a Guard of Honour.

Several union ministers including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Earth Sciences Kiren Rijiju were present on the occassion. President Murmu also met the Kenyan delegation led by William Ruto. Ruto arrived in Delhi on Monday on a state visit to India on the invitation of President Droupadi Murmu.

A Presidential visit from Kenya is taking place after a period of over six years. The visit is expected to strengthen and invigorate the bilateral relations between the two countries. This evening a state banquet will be hosted by President Murmu in honour of President Ruto.

During his visit to India, the Kenyan President will hold detailed discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ruto, who is accompanied by a high-level official delegation will also participate in a business and investment event in New Delhi. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had called on Kenyan President on Monday.

“Honored to call on Kenyan President @WilliamsRuto at the start of his State Visit. Appreciated his perspectives on the concerns of the Global South. Valued his insights for the further strengthening of our bilateral ties,” posted Jaishankar on X.

Separately, the chairperson of Bharti Enterprises, Sunil Bharti Mittal also met with Ruto in New Delhi. He highlighted to the President Airtel’s enduring relationship with and commitment to the people of Kenya in catalysing the digital economy of the country. During the meeting with Kenyan President, Mittal spoke about the benefits of co-innovation and collaboration in distributing the success of the Indian Digital Public Infrastructure to Kenya.

Last week, Kenyan President William Ruto termed his country’s ties with India “fantastic” and thanked PM Modi for making sure that the African Union (AU) becomes a permanent member of the G20. He said that India and Kenya have a fantastic bilateral relationship and added that he is looking forward to visiting India. “India has made a very huge contribution.

We want to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making sure that Africa became a permanent member of the G20 during his presidency. And we will be having further conversations with him,” the Kenyan President told ANI. “We have a fantastic bilateral relationship and it is my intention that we are going to build on that relationship during my visit to India later…,” he added.

The African Union is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The move to include the African Union in the G20 grouping was proposed by PM Modi earlier this June. PM Modi, in his opening remarks at the 18th G20 Leaders’ Summit, invited the African Union, represented by Chairperson Azali Assoumani, to take a seat at the table of G20 leaders as a permanent member.

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