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Ruto returns after 10-day tour to US

On the sidelines of the meeting, he met and held talks with several leaders

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by MAUREEN KINYANJUI

News25 September 2023 - 04:45
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In Summary


  • Ruto has been in the US for the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York.
  • The head of state who left the country on September 13 also visited Silicon Valley in San Francisco Bay, US, to market Kenya as a prime technology hub.
President William Ruto witnesses the signing of the deal between MCC CEO Alice Bright and Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u in US on September 19, 2023.

President William Ruto jetted back into the country Sunday evening after his 10-day tour to the US.

Ruto has been in the US for the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York.

The head of state who left the country on September 13 also visited Silicon Valley in San Francisco Bay, US, to market Kenya as a prime technology hub.

Statehouse spokesman Hussein Mohamed said the visit was aimed at enhancing investment opportunities and trade relations with the United States, with a particular focus on nurturing Kenya’s thriving start-up sector known as the “Silicon Savannah”.

At the city, he met Apple CEO Tim Cook, Intel's Pat Gelsinger, Google CFO Ruth Porat and executives from Nike, GAP and Levi Strauss.

“Kenya is your gateway to the Silicon Savannah, to the East African Community, the most integrated regional market of 500 million, and a Pan-African market of 1.4 billion. If you build it in Kenya, it works for Africa, and if you set up in Kenya, your African footprint is guaranteed,” Ruto told the tech leaders.

The President also emphasised Kenya’s young talent, green energy initiatives and its value as an alternative supply chain for American companies.

In his address at the UNGA session, the President challenged the existing norms and standards in the current global geopolitical configurations.

He reaffirmed his stance for a new climate financial system that is fair to both the economically empowered nations and unstable economies, particularly in Africa.

Ruto remarked that these were inconsistent with the founding principles and purpose of the United Nations.

In particular, the President said the dysfunctional nature of the United Nations Security Council occasioned by ideological and political differences among the major powers, had resulted in a Council that was incapable of delivering meaningful progress to global security challenges.

On the sidelines of the meeting, he met held talks with several leaders and heads of state.

"Kenya’s participation in the high-level meeting provided the country with an essential platform for the advancement of the country’s foreign policy and economic objectives and also in contributing to a safer, secure and prosperous Africa," Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua said.

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