On Monday, Kenya and Indonesia signed four Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) following the discussions between president William Ruto of Kenya and President Joko Widodo of Indonesia at State House, Nairobi.
The MOU’s outline plans to enhance and expand the partnership between Kenya and Indonesia with a focus on key issue such as energy, mining, food, pharmaceutical products and livestock among others.
“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,” President Ruto said.
The first MOU signed was on the energy front. It will see Kenya and Indonesia cooperate to facilitate investment in geothermal energy, transmission and distribution of the power generated.
An MOU between the Kenya Pharmacy and Poisons Board and the Indonesia Food and Drug Authority was also signed. It will facilitate the strengthening, promotion, development, and implementation of regulatory cooperation in pharmaceutical products
The MOU on mining and geology will involve joint studies, knowledge sharing, and capacity building between the two countries.
Additionally, an MOU that establishes a framework between Kenya’s Biovax and Indonesia’s BioFarma 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 signed.
The two leaders also signed agreements in the oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, edible oils and agriculture, including livestock exports and apparel production sectors.
President Widodo’s visit followed Kenyan trade minister Moses Kuria’s visit to Indonesia in May, during which he met a delegation to explore business partnerships between the two states.