President William Ruto has waded into the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war saying the internationally recognised boundaries must be respected.
Ruto spoke on Wednesday after holding bilateral talks with visiting Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at State House.
He said Kenya shares a similar position with the country.
The President said at a time the world was faced with serious challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, “the least we should have in between is war.”
“Kenya will continue to be a responsible player on the global stage, we believe the internationally recognised instruments that call for the respect of boundaries of countries as the bare minimum we must all live by,” he said.
He noted that this was the position of not only Kenya but East Africa at large as it was keen on having the matter urgently resolved.
“I am happy we hold a common stand with Spain,” Ruto said.
This was the first time Ruto was commenting about the European conflict publicly since he took to power.
The US is among the countries that have been trying to convince Kenya to take a stand on the conflict. Kenya enjoys good ties with both Russia and Ukraine.
Despite endorsing a resolution by the United Nations Security Council denouncing the war, Kenya was yet to go public over it.
Spain's political, humanitarian and military support for Ukraine has been constant since the beginning of Russia's invasion.
It has taken in more than 130,000 Ukrainians and delivered several tons of humanitarian aid.
The President also expressed his commitment to strengthening the economic and investment relations between the two countries.
Underscoring the importance of bilateral flows between the two countries, Ruto noted that over the last decade there has been positive growth.
He, however, said there is room to expand the trade and investment opportunities.
“Your visit confirms that there is a relationship between our two countries to develop a permanent dialogue,” Ruto said.
Ruto announced that the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on trade, health and education.
The President is seeking to deliver on his agenda amidst the hard-hitting economic situation in the country as a result of the huge public debts.
He said the renewal of the current financial protocol to be addressed by the two countries will add new funds to the kitty and facilitate the Spanish companies in the implementation of key priority projects.
He said Kenya was open for business having created a “bigger public-private sector engagement enterprise that will work with Spain to leverage on opportunities that can help the two countries grow.”
Spanish companies, he noted, have interests in tourism, agriculture and infrastructure, water management and renewable energy.
Ruto said with Kenya having opportunities in the Blue economy where Spain has the experience, the cooperation will open opportunities for the private and public sectors.
“We are going to play a facilitative role in ensuring that Kenya taps on these close ties for economic development, job creation and value-addition to the resources like oceans and rivers,” he said.
Ruto at the same time assured the PM that Kenya will be a dependable ally in its endeavour to reach out to Africa.
He said Kenya is going to be a gateway for the country to enter into the continent while working together to ensure Spain explores available and existing opportunities.
The President further revealed plans to build the East Africa Community (EAC) into a common market.
“We are all systems go in building East African Community into a common market and possibly progressing into a federation,” he said.
The future of EAC, he said, is that of working together to form a common market not just as a community but as the African continent using the Free Trade Area which Kenya is a signatory.
This, he said, is built on the common principle of shared values and mutual respect among the member states.
He added that five billion trees will be planted in five years and another 10 billion in the next 10 to mitigate against desertification and climate change.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)