NEW DELHI – Kenya and India have signed an MoU in capacity building and collaboration in ship design and construction.
The MoU was signed between the Goa Shipyard Ltd and the Kenya Shipyard Limited during Defence CS Aden Duale’s three-day visit to New Delhi, India.
On Tuesday, CS Duale held talks with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh where capacity building and cooperation in defence industry and equipment was also discussed at length.
India also donated 15 pairs of parachutes (main and reserve) manufactured by the Gliders India Limited for use by the Kenyan Forces. India also pledged support towards setting up of an advanced CT scan facility in Kenya.
A statement by India’s Ministry of Defence said the two ministers also concurred on the need for deeper cooperation in maritime security of the Indian Ocean region.
“Mr Aden Bare Duale appreciated the growing prowess of the Indian defence industry, including the private sector, and highlighted the areas in which the Indian industry can support the requirements of the Kenyan Forces.
“He also suggested ‘training of trainers’ of Kenyan Forces by the instructors of Indian Armed Forces in order to maintain continuity and extract greater benefit out of such programmes,” the statement added.
Duale said the agreement will guide the KSL to sail through and be one of the anchor companies in ship-building technology in Africa.
The two sides also agreed for joint training in counter insurgency and UN peacekeeping domains, the Defence ministry added.
Duale was accompanied by Kenya to India Ambassador Willy Bett, Maj Gen P. Otieno (MD, KSL), Brig Hilary Kipkosgey (Director General Kenya Space Agency) and other senior officers.
Duale arrived in New Delhi on Monday for a three-day visit, where other than holding bilateral talks with Minister Singh, he also met meeting with India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar.
“We deliberated on a number of areas that our two countries can cooperate in to speed our economic growth and strengthen our mutual ties. These areas included trade, investment, defence, regional and global peace and security,” Duale said.
The CS noted that India has stood with Kenya at numerous multilateral forums and that they agreed on the push for the reforms on membership at the United Nations Security Council, proposing Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America must have membership.
“Further, we agreed on the need for reforms of the International Financial Architecture on resource mobilization, fair and equity in distributions. We discussed the importance of peace and security and role of UN peacekeeping missions,” Duale said.
In August last year, Kenya joined the league of ship-building countries after the floatation of the first locally built ship, 1, 800-tonnes capacity MV Uhuru II on Lake Victoria. The ship, made by KSL, was commissioned in April.
Maj Gen P. Otieno said the initiative saved Kenya an estimated Sh1.3 billion, which could have otherwise been used to purchase a fully built vessel.
In July, President William Ruto officially rededicated the Kenya Navy’s patrol ship KNS Shupavu, marking a major milestone for the country’s investment in a new shipyard.
The 60 m ship received an extensive overhaul at KSL’s Mombasa Shipyard, which was built at Mtongwe Naval Base with the help of the Dutch shipyard Damen.
