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On first day of visit, Modi meets Kenya's Indian community

Monday July 11 2016

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kenya began on an emotional note last evening when he addressed a gathering of Kenyan Indians at a diaspora event in the final leg of his Africa tour.

It was an event that marked Modi's first visit to Kenya as Prime Minister and which President Uhuru Kenyatta had described as significant.

"His choice of Nairobi for the diaspora event reflects the fact that our capital city is now the hub of the continent for these and similar events," State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu had told reporters.

At Kasarani, where the community had gathered to see him, the venue was turned into a Indian festival.

President Kenyatta, who invited him to the stage, curtain raised by going back to the century-old relationship between Kenya and India.

"The visit reflects the people-to-people relationship that exist between the countries," he said, referring to the many Indians who arrived in colonial Kenya to build the railway to Uganda.

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Mr Kenyatta said naturalised Indian Kenyans are now at the heart of Kenya's existence for now and in future.

"Our fundamental engagement must be based on people to people relationships," he said again as he invited Modi to speak, and then left the venue.

Among those in attendance included the country's former Deputy Chief Justice Kalpana Rawal, former Chairman of the Tunoi Tribunal Sharad Rao, Embakasi South MP Irshad Sumra, Bidco CEO Vimal Shah and billionaire philanthropist Manu Chandaria.

But long before this, it had been Modi's day.

Dance, song and costumes mostly in saffron, black, white and green colours glittered as they awaited the Indian PM.

There were short films of Mr Modi, known for his charisma, arguing how his coming to power had turned the fortunes of many poor folk in India.

Then there was Yoga, one of his known pastimes, and which has become popular in Kenya lately. Kenyans were shown describing how it had helped their mental states.

Modi greeted the crowd in his local language, turned to Kiswahili saying "habari gani" before thanking President Kenyatta for inviting him.

"It is an honour to be here," he said.

The rest of his speech was in the Hindi language but the charisma he is known of was not lost. Occasionally, he would pause to receive cheers. Or to listen to someone in the crowd demanding an encore.

On Monday, the second day of his Kenya visit, he will have a full in-tray of activities.

An itinerary released by State House shows he will receive a 19-gun salute in his honour before a series of bilateral discussions kicks off, a media briefing and a business forum.

"The Prime Minister's visit offers us a chance to renew and deepen our friendship and partnership in a number of fields," Mr Esispisu said Sunday.

The two leaders will discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest at the bilateral, continental and multilateral levels.

"Our focus will be on the areas in which there has already been consultation, and where we can expect concrete results to be announced.

"I can confirm that a revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement will be signed during the visit, as will a further agreement between India's Bureau of Indian Standards and our own."

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