PM Modi meets former Kenyan PM Odinga, recalls past interactions

New Delhi, Feb 13 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday met his ‘friend’, former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga, who is currently in India on a private visit. The two leaders share friendly personal relations going back decades. The PM in a tweet said: “Delighted to receive my friend H.E. Raila Amolo Odinga, former Prime Minister of Kenya. I fondly recollect my past interactions with him in India and Kenya. “India and Kenya enjoy strong bilateral relations and we welcome further strengthening of our ties.” Prime Minister Modi expressed his happiness at being able to meet Odinga after almost three and half years and recollected his multiple interactions with the Kenyan leader since 2008 in both India and Kenya, as well as the latter’s support to the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in 2009 and 2012, said an official statement. The two leaders also discussed other issues of mutual interest. The Prime Minister expressed his commitment to further strengthening India-Kenya relations. Prime Minister Modi also conveyed his best wishes to Mr. Odinga for his good health and future endeavours, it said. Raila Odinga, a veteran opposition leader, announced in December last year that he will make his fifth bid for Kenya’s presidency this August, ending months of suspense following a surprise truce with his former foe, President Uhuru Kenyatta. He announced that he is committed to building a “democratic and progressive Kenya in our lifetime”. “I am in this race to mould one indivisible nation,” he said. A mainstay of Kenyan politics, the former prime minister – fondly referred to by many as “Baba” (“daddy” in Kiswahili) – remains hugely popular despite losing four shots at the presidency in 1997, 2007, 2013 and 2017.