Details Of Ruto's Trip To France, Senegal

President William Ruto will depart the country tonight, Monday, January 23, 2023, for a three-day official visit to France and Senegal.

According to a statement from State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed, Ruto will land in Paris where he will hold talks with his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron.

The talks will be based on the status of key development projects agreed upon by the two countries. Regional peace and security will also feature in the discussions.

The Head of State will then return to the African continent for a trip to Senegal.

"President Ruto will then travel to Dakar, Senegal, where he will be a keynote speaker at the Dakar 2 Summit on 'Feed Africa: Food, Sovereignty and Resilience.'

"The summit, organized by the Africa Development Bank, convenes at a time when Africa is experiencing serious food security challenges," Hussein stated in part.

The forum was termed as appropriate for Heads of State and other partners to discuss how to exploit Africa's agricultural potential and the plans and programmes that will help scale up production.

It will also be an opportunity for leaders in the continent to find ways through which Africa can meet the rising cost of food.

This will be Ruto's first official trip of 2023. On December 12, 2022, the President flew to the United States (US) to attend the US-Africa Leaders' Summit.

The three-day summit, between December 13 and 15, 2022, offered an opportunity for African leaders to shape the continent's partnership with the US in a range of sectors including trade, the economy, security and political relations.

"The priority is to scale up measures that support resilience and recovery from the effects of Covid-19, and the climate crisis that has seen the continent suffer disproportionate consequences.

"The US is one of the largest export destinations for Kenyan products under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and a leading partner for Kenya's development agenda as well as regional peace, security and multilateral cooperation," read the statement in part.

In strengthening Kenya's bilateral and economic ties with the US, President Ruto was to advocate the conclusion of the Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement and support African countries' push to expand US-Africa trade relations through the renewal of AGOA.

During the tour, he was set to deliver a statement on "The Future of Africa's Trade and Investment Relations with the US", and address the summit on partnering in Agenda 2063, specifically on A Peaceful and Secure Africa.

President Ruto was also tipped to engage the private sector and pitch for expanded partnerships in trade and investments, a better access of Kenyan products to the US market and the creation of jobs and other opportunities for Kenyans.