Remarks · 21 August 2023
• Your Excellency, Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia; • Distinguished Officials; • Members of the Media; • Good afternoon;
On behalf of the people and Government of Kenya and on my own behalf, I take this opportunity to welcome Your Excellency and members of your entire delegation on this historic visit; the first one by an Indonesian Head of State to Kenya.
Kenya is the cradle of mankind. We are thus delighted to welcome you home. This visit is a sign of Your Excellency’s goodwill and commitment to advance and cement the close historical ties enjoyed by our two countries.
President Widodo and I have had fruitful bilateral engagement during which we discussed various issues, set out priority areas of cooperation and witnessed the signing of four Memoranda of Understanding and a Letter of Intent to strengthen commercial collaboration and the promotion of investment between our two countries.
This visit reaffirms the strong bonds of friendship between our nations and shows our interest in deepening and strengthening our partnership to enable us thrive now and into the future.
During our discussions, President Widodo and I seized the opportunity to share ideas about scaling up our collaboration to seize on emerging opportunities towards improving the balance of trade between our two nations.
We have agreed to enhance and expand the partnership between Kenya and Indonesia with focus on four key issues: Food security, mining, renewable energy and health.
We also discussed trade and investment as well as collaboration in higher education, basic education, and vaccine development.
I am happy to inform you that His Excellency Widodo have witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cooperation in Energy, which will facilitate investment in geothermal energy, transmission and distribution of the power generated.
We have also witnessed the signing of a Cooperation Agreement in mining and geology which will involve joint studies, knowledge sharing, and capacity building between our two countries.
Our two nations have also concluded an MOU between the Kenya Pharmacy and Poisons Board and the Indonesia Food and Drug Authority, which will facilitate the strengthening, promotion, development, and implementation of regulatory cooperation in pharmaceutical products.
An MOU that establishes a framework between Kenya Biovax and Indonesia’s BioFarma for cooperation in technology transfer, contract manufacturing, registration, supply, and marketing of vaccines portfolio that will be manufactured by BioFarma in the Republic of Kenya, has also been executed.
Additionally, our two countries have also signed, a Letter of Intent to strengthen collaboration on the promotion of investment flows between Kenya and Indonesia.
Our respective ministers will continue to engage in bilateral discussions to conclude additional frameworks of cooperation in agriculture, and education, among others.
To anchor business to business relations which is the lifeblood of a thriving inter-State cooperation, six additional MOUs have been signed between our Trade Facilitation Institutions during this visit in the following sectors: oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, edible oils, agriculture, including livestock exports and apparel production. These value addition ventures will catapult the value of our trade relations and leverage on the comparative advantage of Kenya and Indonesia.
We have additionally discussed the importance of entering a Bilateral Investment Treaty that will provide a stable and predictable investment environment which is a precondition for accelerated Private Secretor Investment. We have tasked our joint teams to finalize the elaboration of this instrument within the next 90 days.
To further bolster our Trade relations, we have committed to negotiating a preferential Trade Agreement between our two countries. Such an agreement will be cognizant of our obligations to our EAC members and other trade arrangements within the continent.
Kenya is open for business. A significant step in this direction must remain the relaxation and progressive abolition of visa restrictions to entry between our two nations. On our part as Kenya, we have taken the decision to extend visa-free entry not only to holders of diplomatic and service passports but also to all holders of Indonesian passports.
I also had the pleasure to brief President Widodo on the upcoming Africa Climate Summit to be held in Nairobi from the 4th to 6th September, 2023, underscoring the primacy of cooperative approaches in the search for solutions to the most pressing global challenge of our time.
Additionally, I expressed Kenya’s position on the imperative to democratize global governance and financial institutions including the United Nations Security Council and make it more inclusive and reflective of the current geo-political context and dynamics.
I also briefed President Widodo on the expansion and renovation of the United Nations Office in Nairobi to match facilities in other UN offices globally. President Widodo has assured me of Indonesia's support for this expansion.
In conclusion, President Widodo and I reiterated our shared commitment to the development of KenyaIndonesia relations, and the full pursuit of all partnership opportunities available to us in the various priority areas we have identified.
Thank you.