bilateral

In a statement released on Thursday, India's foreign ministry said that the resumption of flights would "further facilitate people-to-people contact" between the two countries and contribute towards "gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges".

The US has already reached bilateral deportation agreements with a number of countries.

At the same time, Kenya is trying to strike its own bilateral deal with the US.

"There's an intersection between the growth ambitions of the government, the health ambitions of the government, the trade ambitions of the government and bilateral relations with the US," he added.

Optimism had surrounded a lifting of the ban earlier this year, as bilateral ties appeared to be warming.