President William Ruto on the evening of Saturday, July 15, met ten presidents who jetted into the country for the fifth mid-year Coordination Meeting of the African Union, Regional Communities and Regional Mechanisms.
The Head of State sent members of his Cabinet to receive his African counterparts including Azzali Assoumani (Comoros), Ali Bongo (Gabon), Abdel Fattah (Egypt), Macky Sall (Senegal), Ismail Omar Guelleh (Djibouti), and Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Nigeria).
Lands CS Zachariah Njeru received the Head of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohamed al-Menfi while Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi received the President of Comoros Azali Assoumani at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
In a statement, President William Ruto acknowledged that the coordination meeting was a 'crucial platform for the advancement of our shared vision to build a more prosperous and democratic Africa.'
According to the African Union, the event is aimed at assessing the status of continental integration and coordinating efforts to accelerate the integration process.
Other roles include coordinating the implementation of a clear division of labour and identifying areas of cooperation and establishing mechanisms for regional, continental and global cooperation in each sector or subsector.
The press conference will be addressed by the Chairperson of the Union and the Chairperson of the AU Commission.
The event, which will be live-streamed, is expected to take place at the UN Headquarters in Nairobi.
According to Nigeria's Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Alake, the event will operate under a theme, 'Acceleration of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation.'
Other organisations expected to attend include ECOWAS, the East African Community (EAC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) as well as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
Others are the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN SAD), the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
President William Ruto has dedicated his first year in office toward positioning Kenya as a dependant for diplomatic activities.
In early 2023, the head of state volunteered towards mediating the warring parties in the ongoing Sudan conflict.
