President William Ruto has insisted that it is the collective responsibility of leaders from within the East African Community (EAC) to make sure the region is peaceful.
Speaking at the 24th Ordinary Summit of EAC Heads of State in Arusha, Tanzania, Ruto said that it is not possible to attract investments into the bloc if there is no security and stability.
He added that this will also make it difficult even for the people from within EAC to do business.
"We all know that it is not possible to invest or to attract investment, it is not possible to do business unless there is peace, security and stability. And that is why it is and must be our collective effort to keep our region peaceful and to invest in the security and stability of our region,” Ruto said.
The President went on to elaborate that it is for this reason that Kenya has invested in ensuring there is lasting peace in South Sudan.
He, however, noted that this was at the request of South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit.
Ruto further noted that there has been great progress in the ongoing talks that will be concluded in the new few months.
“It is the reason why Kenya has invested in working with South Sudan at the request of President Salva Kiir. When he requested me to provide a forum and a platform and a mechanism for the people of South Sudan to talk amongst themselves, Kenya was ready and willing and available to do that.
“There is tremendous progress that has been made in the discussions between the different actors in South Sudan. We intend to conclude this in a couple of months so that South Sudan can continue to do what they must do as a country going into elections, unify the country and play its rightful place in the EAC,” he added.
