NAIROBI, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Kenya Airways (KQ) and Dutch airline KLM on Tuesday signed an extended general sales agent (GSA) agreement for most European and Eastern African countries.

Kenya Airways Group CEO Sebastian Mikosz said the two airlines already have a longstanding joint venture agreement under which Kenya Airways and KLM operate on the London and Amsterdam routes into Nairobi.

"Kenya Airways is working towards strengthening its network and consolidating Nairobi's position as a leading hub in East Africa," Mikosz said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

"The networks of both airlines are complementary and we are confident that this agreement will allow us to find the synergies for us to grow our respective networks," he added.

The new agreement enables KQ and KLM to sell more joint-venture flights to or from Europe and East Africa and destinations beyond Amsterdam and Nairobi.

"We continuously want to create more value for our customers, and in doing so we are very excited to deepen our cooperation with Kenya Airways," said KLM CEO Pieter Elbers. "This new phase is good news for our customers."