Kenya’s president, parliament speaker to visit Indonesia

Jakarta (Indonesia Windows) – Kenya’s President William Samoei Ruto and Chairman of the National Assembly Moses Wetangúla have expressed their intention to make an official visit to Indonesia.

The statement was made when the two country’s leaders received a Indonesia’s Chairperson of the House of Representatives Puan Maharani in Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday (Oct. 12).

A press release from the Indonesian Embassy in Nairobi stated that Puan Maharani was in the Kenyan capital after attending a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Kigali, Rwanda.

The meeting between Puan Maharani and President William Ruto was held at the State House, Kenya’s presidential palace.

At the meeting which was also attended by Indonesian Ambassador to Kenya Mohamad Hery Saripudin and two members of the Indonesian House of Representatives from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), Puan conveyed greetings from Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to President Ruto, who had just been sworn in in mid-September.

The Indonesian House speaker expressed her hope to encourage cooperation between the two countries, including in the economic sector, and enhance parliamentary cooperation.

“We hope that Indonesia and Kenya increase bilateral economic cooperation, especially in the fields of infrastructure, health/pharmaceuticals, transportation, strategic industries, manufacturing, and procurement of affordable housing,” Puan said.

Puan’s hope was welcomed by President Ruto who expressed his readiness to encourage closer cooperation between Indonesia and Kenya, especially in the economic field.

The Kenyan president also conveyed his regards to Jokowi and promised to invite the Indonesian president officially to visit Kenya.

The meeting between the two countries’ House speakers took place in the parliament building.

On the occasion, Moses Wetangúla welcomed the Indonesian House speaker and hoped that the visit would help strengthen relations between the two countries, including cooperation between the two parliaments.

In this context, Wetangúla promised to form an Indonesia-Kenya parliamentary friendship group, immediately after the formation of the commissions in the East African country’s parliament.

Indonesia is an important partner for Kenya both bilaterally and multilaterally, Wetangúla said, adding that the two countries always have the same views on international issues, and work together in the context of the G77, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

At the meeting, Puan expressed her gratitude for the active participation and support of the Kenyan Parliament at the IPU meeting in Bali, Indonesia, last year.

Responding to the NAM issue raised by Moses Wetangúla, Puan also said that the Non-Aligned Movement and the Asia-Africa Conference are still relevant today and need to be continued.

Regarding the invitation from Puan to visit Indonesia, Wetangúla stated that he would soon make a working visit to the Southeast Asian country.

Reporting by Indonesia Window