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. He will also hold bilateral meetings with Heads of State and Government from various African countries, including Senegal and Algeria, to foster regional cooperation.
The President will further attend China-Africa Entrepreneurs Conference as well as meet with private sector corporations to pitch for increased investment in Kenya's infrastructure development, healthcare and technology sectors.
The expected outcomes of the FOCAC Summit include the Beijing Declaration by Heads of State and Government, and an action plan detailing agreed areas cooperation for the period between 2025 and 2027.
President Ruto's visit is anticipated to yield significant benefits for Kenya, including strengthened strategic partnership with China as well as a joint commitment to building a Kenya-China community with a shared future.
Agreements on support for infrastructure development, including construction of rural roads across the country, the Nairobi Intelligent Transport System, Bosto Dam Water Supply Project as well as phase III of the upgrading of equipment in technical and vocational training (TVET) workshops will be discussed.
Further the visit will see the conclusion of discussions on new cooperation projects such as the extension and completion of SGR phases 28 and 2C (Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba), dualling of the Nairobi Northern Bypass, among other vital infrastructure projects.
Talks on establishing a pharmaceutical park, Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) will be initiated.
