Ruto To Fly To South Korea Tonight To Complete 5 Deals

President William Ruto has announced that he will travel to South Korea this evening, Sunday, June 2 for an official visit.

Speaking at a church service in Bungoma County, the Head of State argued that he was making numerous international trips to secure better opportunities for Kenyans.

"After here, I will be flying out tonight to South Korea. I am not going for fun or as a tourist. I am going to work," he told Bungoma residents. 

President Ruto is expected to attend the Korea-Africa Summit alongside 48 other heads of state and government.

President William Ruto with speaker Kim Jin Pyo at the Parliament building in Seoul, South Korea on November 23, 2022. /PCS

The Head of State further revealed that he was travelling to the Asian country to sign bilateral agreements as well as receive funding for key projects following an earlier State Visit in 2022 at the invite of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Among those agreements include a Ksh40 billion investment in the country's creative economy, among projects part of a grand scheme to empower Kenyan youth seeking to venture into the creative industry.

"I was there and agreed with the President that we want to have a collaboration of our university in Athi River and one in South Korea and they have given us Ksh40 billion for young people in the creative economy. I will be going to receive those funds," he stated.

Regarding how the Ksh40 billion will be used, Ruto added "You saw I visited one of the largest creative economy people in America and now we want to have ours here."

The President added that Yeol's government would seek to pump Ksh25 billion in dam and irrigation projects to enhance farming in the country as South Korea had identified huge parts of Kenya that were dry lands.

He also assured Kenyan youth that he would secure job opportunities for them when he tours the Asian country, through an agreement that would see between 5,000 and 10,000 Kenyan youth travel to South Korea in a human capital export deal. 

"When we met with the South Korean president, we initiated plans to export our youth and now we are going to sign an agreement to that effect," he revealed. 

Also in the pipeline is a Ksh132.9 billion ($1 billion) deal to complete a data centre in Naivasha, Nakuru County, which would be the first in Africa and powered by green energy and the establishment of a manufacturing facility for mobile technology chips in Africa.

This visit by the head of state underscores the strengthening of bilateral relations between Kenya and South Korea.

President William Ruto with (from left) Kenneth Lusaka, Musalia Mudavadi, Moses Wetangula and Didmus Barasa as they arrive in Kimilili, Bungoma County for a church service on June 2, 2024. /PCS