President William Ruto is scheduled to fly out to Beijing in China today, Sunday, September 1. The president will lead the Kenyan delegation to the 9th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit.
The summit brings together African Heads of State, Chinese leaders and the African Union (AU) Commission to discuss and strengthen Sino-African relations.
The summit’s theme, ‘Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future,’ highlights the commitment of both African governments and China to leverage their comparative advantages to foster industrial and socio-economic development policies and programmes for a prosperous future.
President Ruto will co-chair a session on ‘Pursuing High-Quality Belt and Road Initiative Cooperation: A Platform for Modernization Featuring Planning, Building, and Benefiting Together’ at the High-Level Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) event.
Kenya is a crucial partner in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a key pillar of which is FOCAC.
Kenya’s involvement in the BRI has resulted in transformative infrastructure projects, including the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), the Nairobi Expressway, the Kipevu Oil Terminal, and various bypasses in Nairobi.
During his visit to Beijing, President Ruto will participate in several other high-profile meetings and events to further strengthen Kenya-China relations and explore new areas of collaboration.
Among other things President Ruto will meet with President Xi Jinping to discuss strengthening bilateral ties and exploring new areas of cooperation between Kenya and China.
