President William Ruto on Monday hinted at scrapping visa restrictions for African travelers within the continent.
Ruto told the African delegates that it might be the last time they will pay for visas to visit Kenya.
"This is home. We support wholeheartedly the AfCFTA and we must remove any impediments to the movement of people around our continent," he said.
The President of Comoros Azali Assoumani welcomed Ruto's apology and joked that he might lose his passport and not go back to his country.
"My dear brother and friend Ruto will have to explain to my wife as I might not go back to my country because this is home," Azali said.
President Ruto said that Africa must work towards integrating more, eliminating barriers to international trade and pushing for the establishment of a more secure, reliable and efficient cross-border payments system that will deepen financial inclusion and foster growth in the continent.
"Africa presents an attractive and expansive market for investors seeking new business opportunities," he said.
Ruto was speaking during the opening of the Private Sector Dialogue on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Nairobi.
He maintained that Africa, a rapidly growing and increasingly competitive continent must exploit the promise of a freer trade that will help it reduce poverty and enhance manufacturing, incomes and economic growth.
Currently, Kenyans holding ordinary passports are granted visa-free entry to South Africa, according to the new visa-free regime between the two countries.
The President in November 2022 said the deal had been arrived at, after an intervention by South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa.
