India To Extend $250M Soft Loan to Kenya, Eyes Its Cheetahs and Raises Issue of Missing Nationals

New Delhi: India on Tuesday (December 5) said it would extend a soft loan of $250 million to Kenya for its agriculture sector, even as New Delhi also looks to procure Kenyan cheetahs and raised the issue of two Indian nationals who went missing in the east African country in July last year.

The announcement came following discussions between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto, who is on a three-day visit to India, the first after his election in September 2022.

“I am confident that President Ruto’s visit will give new impetus to our bilateral relations as well as our engagement with the entire African continent,” said Modi in his press statement.

He also stated that India will provide $250 million as a line of credit to “modernise Kenya’s agriculture sector”.

As per a joint statement issued today, Kenya has also offered “in line with Kenyan laws, to provide land to Indian companies and institutions for [the] cultivation of crops, including millets, in Kenya”.

The Indian government, in turn, promised to urge Indian companies to invest in Kenya’s agriculture sector, including in equipment and technology.

In total, five agreements were signed today in the areas of standardisation, sports, culture, education and digital solutions.

Besides the joint statement, a separate joint vision statement on maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean region was also released.

Meanwhile, India confirmed that New Delhi was hoping to get cheetahs from Kenya.

Speaking to reporters, external affairs ministry secretary Dammu Ravi said that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has expressed interest.

“But this interest came only today. So we’ll have to take it up to them and pass on this request to them to see if there is a possibility for cooperation in that area,” he said.

Last year, India had flown in eight cheetahs from Namibia and another 12 cheetahs from South Africa.

One year later, six of them have died.

Besides, three out of the four cubs born in the first litter to one of the cheetahs also did not survive.

India had been looking to get cheetahs that do not develop ‘winter coats’ during the summer and monsoon months. Apparently, the cheetahs imported from Namibia and South Africa exhibited this adaptation, developing ‘winter coats’ during those months due to their natural habitat in the southern hemisphere.

Kenya, which is home to around 800 to 1200 cheetahs, is bisected almost equally by the equator.

The senior external affairs ministry official also stated that India raised the issue of two Indian nationals, Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan and Zaid Sami Kidwai, who have been missing since July 2022.

“The issue about missing Indians did come up. As you know that this has been there for quite some time. The authorities on both sides have been in contact with each other and information was being shared between the two sides,” Ravi said.

He continued: “But at this point of time, we should not speculate because the investigation is ongoing. It’s a sub judice matter in the courts of Kenya.”

Indian high commissioner to Kenya Namgya Khampa said the mission “continues to monitor these developments and continues to be engaged with the authorities in Kenya”.

As per media reports, the two Indian nationals may have been killed by the disbanded Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), as claimed by a close aide of the Kenyan president.

But as per official records, they continued to be missing.