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Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan arrived in Asmara, Eritrea on Thursday to call on President Isaias Afwerki and hold talks with Foreign Minister Osman Saleh Mohammed on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Upon his arrival, Osman Ibrahim, the Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eritrea, received him. MoS also interacted with the Indian community in Eritrea during the visit. Indian Community in Eritrea welcomed him. In his address to the diaspora, the MoS underlined the age-old relations between India and Eritrea and lauded their contributions. He also highlighted the phenomenal transformations happening in India. India enjoys warm and cordial relations with Eritrea. Since its independence in 1993, India has offered a range of capacity-building assistance in diverse fields to the youth of Eritrea. A sizeable Indian community is living in Eritrea, mostly Professors and Teachers and those working for companies. The visit is likely to give new momentum to India's relations with Eritrea. MoS Muraleedharan Tuesday visited the Republic of Kenya where he attended the swearing-in ceremony of Kenyan President Dr William Ruto in Nairobi and expressed optimism that the relationship between the two countries would strengthen under his leadership. MoS handed over the letter of greetings and a congratulatory message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kenyan President Ruto. Muraleedharan arrived in Nairobi on Tuesday. Notably, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga visited India in February this year and met PM Modi. The two leaders share friendly personal relations going back decades. PM Modi expressed his happiness at being able to meet Odinga after almost three and half years. He recollected his multiple interactions with Odinga since 2008 in both India and Kenya, as well as the latter's support of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in 2009 and 2012. Kenya has a significant minority of Indians and Persons of Indian Origin living there who are descendants of labourers brought in by the British to construct the Uganda Railway. Kenya and India are members of international fora like the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Commonwealth of Nations, G-77 and G-15, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation and often cooperate with each other on these fora. India and Kenya are maritime neighbours with robust and multi-faceted partnerships, marked by regular high-level visits, increasing trade and investment and extensive people-to-people contacts. According to the Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest), India is the second largest investor in Kenya. Apart from trade and political relations Cultural ties, development, and people to contact India shares good relations with Kenya. (ANI)
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