Indonesian President to visit Kenya on Monday

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo. [VOA]

Indonesian President Joko Widodo will be in Kenya on Monday for a state visit, country's ambassador to Kenya, Dr. Hery Saripudin confirmed to the Standard.

The leader of Southeast Asia biggest economy will have a bilateral engagement with his host, President William Ruto.

This is Widodo's first visit to Kenya and the continent, and is aimed at boosting relations with countries Indonesia has relations with.

During a news conference streamed on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube account, the President highlighted the historical significance of Indonesia's connections with Africa.

He pointed out that Indonesia played a vital role in the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference held in the city of Bandung, which addressed the East-West rivalry and fostered a commitment to avoid involvement in the Cold War by establishing the Non-Aligned Movement.

"As I embark on this visit to African countries, I carry the spirit of Bandung with me to reinforce solidarity and collaboration among Global South nations," Jokowi said.

Kenya opened a Diplomatic mission in Indonesian capital, Jakarta last year.

During the talks at State House, Nairobi tomorrow, a Preferential Trade Agreement with Indonesia will most likely be signed.

The trade deal will seek to shore up market access through the slashing of tariff barriers and creation of a favourable business environment to reverse the drop in the volume of traded goods that the two countries witnessed in 2022.

The value of Kenya's imports from Indonesia slumped by about 38.8 per cent to Sh27.13 billion in 2022, from the previous year's Sh44.4 billion, according to the latest economic survey 2023. Though meagre, Kenya's export to the opposite side increased to Sh1.14 billion in 2022.

From Nairobi, President Widodo will also visit Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa where will attend the BRICS summit 2023.

In South Africa , he will hold several bilateral meetings with a number of state leaders on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit that will be held in Johannesburg on August 22-24.