President William Ruto jetted out of the country on Friday evening to attend a conference in Congo Brazzaville.
In videos accessed by Kenyans.co.ke, Ruto was filmed arriving in the country via Kenya Airways and was received by officials from the host country.
The President, alongside his colleagues from the continent, will congregate at the Summit of the Three Basins, Biodiversity Ecosystems, and Tropical Forests from Thursday, October 26, to Saturday, October 28.
"His Excellency Sir William Ruto arrived in Brazzaville, this Friday, October 27, 2023. The Kenyan President is coming to take part in the second edition of the Summit of the 3 tropical forest basins of the planet, the presidential segment of which will take place this Saturday, October 28, 2023," read the statement by Official account of the Presidency of the Republic of Congo.
The page also shared photos of Ruto's arrival.
According to the conference programme, also accessed by Kenyans.co.ke, Ruto will hold a closed-door meeting with his colleagues on Saturday from 12:45 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
State House and Office of the President officials did not release a statement over the trip like in previous tours.
The trip also comes days after the President returned to the country after attending the Future Investment Initiative, King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday.
He also left the country amidst concerns over government expenditure on foreign travel.
Ruto ordered the Treasury to cut the travel budget of all government institutions to the tune of Ksh11 billion.
"I saw that the media saying I reduced the budget by Ksh500 million. No, it is not Ksh500 million, but I have reduced by Ksh11 billion for those going on those trips," he stated while at a development tour in Voi on Friday.
In a report by the Auditor General on the 2022/2023 budget, government institutions spent Ksh20.37 billion on domestic and foreign travel.
The Office of the President spent Ksh361.77 million on foreign travel. The money covered the last three months of former President Uhuru Kenyatta and nine months of Ruto's administration.
