Annual Report 2011 - 2012

Annual Report 2011 - 2012
Commerce & Industries, Ahmedabad, and New Delhi. He
was accompanied by the Ambassador and the Minister of
Trade, Mr Chirau Ali Mwakwere. During the visit, he met
the Vice-President, Shri Hamid Ansari. Mr Mwakwere also
met the Minister for Commerce and Industry, Shri Anand
Sharma.
The President of Kenya, Mr Mwai Kibaki, attended the
Second India-Africa Forum Summit held in Addis Ababa
from 24-25 May, 2011. He met the Prime Minister, Dr
Manmohan Singh, on the margins of the Summit. The
Kenyan delegation included the then Acting Foreign Minister
and Minister for Internal Security, Mr George Saitoti, and
the Minister for Trade, Ambassador Chirau Ali Mwakwere.
The Minister for External Affairs, Shri S M Krishna, visited
Nairobi from 27-28 May, 2011. During the visit he met the
Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister for Local Government,
Mr Musalia Mudavadi.
The Minister for Water Resources and Parliamentary Affairs,
Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal, visited Kenya from 16-22
September, 2011. During the visit, he met the Minister for
Water and Irrigation of Kenya, Ms Charity Kaluki Ngilu.
The High Commissioner led the Indian delegation at the
Summit on the Horn of Africa Crisis, hosted by the
Government of Kenya in Nairobi from 8-9 September, 2011.
On 14 September, 2011, the Government of India
announced that it would provide humanitarian assistance
of US$ 8 million to countries affected by famine and drought
in the Horn of Africa, i.e., Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti.
The assistance will be provided through the World Food
Programme.
Kenya participated at the 11th meeting of the Council of
Ministers of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional
Cooperation (IOR-ARC) and associated meetings held in
Bengaluru from 9-15 November, 2011.
The Indian Navy ship, Sarvekshak, visited Mombassa port
from 25 November -4 December, 2011. INS Sarvekshak
carried out a demonstration of an hydrographic survey of
an earmarked area off Mombassa port and handed over a
chart to the Kenyan Naval authorities. The Indian Navy
ship, Talwar, visited Mombasa port from 23-26 April, 2011
for an Operational Turnaround (OTR) visit from a counterpiracy
mission in the Gulf of Aden.
Nearly 16 Indian companies participated at the Buyer-Seller
Meet organised by the Engineering Exports Promotion
Council (EEPC), in Nairobi on 6 April, 2011, while 11 Indian
companies participated in the Build Expo Kenya exhibition.
The Plastics Export Promotion Council, sponsored by the
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Ministry of Commerce and Industry, with 48 exhibitors from
India participated in the 4th International Exhibition for
Plastics, Rubber and Packaging Industry held from 13-15
July, 2011, in Nairobi. The Federation of Indian Export
Organisations organised the participation of 24 Indian
companies at the 15th Kenya International Trade Exhibition
that was held in Nairobi from 26-28 November, 2011.
A delegation from the Ministry of Textiles visited Kenya from
29 September - 5 October, 2011, to explore possibilities for
cooperation in the field of sericulture.
The High Commission, in association with the Kenya Bengalee
Cultural and Welfare Society, organised a multilingual and
multimedia cultural presentation 'Jiboner Jatri' to mark the
150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore in Nairobi
on 7 May, 2011. The presentation brought together actors,
musicians, dancers, narrators and videographers.
The Assistant High Commission of India in Mombassa, in
association with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations,
organised a Qawwali concert by Ustad Ghulam Niazi and
his troupe in Mombassa on 26 September, 2011.
The Public Diplomacy Division, Ministry of External Affairs,
organised 'Indiafrica: A Shared Future Initiative' at the
AIESEC Business Summit in Nairobi on 26 August, 2011.
Lesotho
Since 1996, the High Commission in Pretoria has been
concurrently accredited to Lesotho, a friendly southern
African nation with which India, shares excellent relations.
Lesotho's leadership is well disposed towards India and holds
a favourable view of India's role in Africa. Lesotho has
consistently supported India's candidatures to various
international bodies, including the permanent membership
to the United Nations Security Council. Lesotho has been
fully supportive of our aspirations to play a role
internationally.
During the year, the India-Lesotho Advanced Centre for
Information Technology was operationalised and Rs 1.46
crore released as grants-inaid for the construction of a new
building for the IT centre. Two trainers from the Centre for
Development of Advanced Computing were deputed in
November 2011 to assist in the development of the IT centre.
An MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Rural Development
was signed with the Government of Lesotho in July 2011. A
team led by Shri Niten Chandra, Joint Secretary (IC), visited
Lesotho from 1-7 November, 2011, to discuss matters relating
to the MoU and expanding co-operation in rural development.
Lt. Gen. V S Tonk, Deputy Chief of Army Staff, visited
Lesotho from 28-31 July, 2011, to oversee the functioning