by MAUREEN KINYANJUI
Wednesday December 28, 2022
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS: President William Ruto secures Sh120bn deal in South Korea
After assuming office, President William Ruto embarked on an active foreign policy campaign, which has seen him make eight international trips.
His first trip came barely a week after his swearing-in when he jetted out to London in the United Kingdom to attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral on September 18.
Ruto then proceeded to New York in the United States where he attended the United Nations General Assembly.
He rallied African peers to raise their voice on the danger of climate change.
Ruto met African heads of state to discuss climate change and its effects, including the ongoing drought in the Horn of Africa and flooding in Sudan.
State House press secretary Emmanuel Talam said the President was promoting Kenya’s foreign policy at the multilateral system.
“This included enhancing participation in the quest for realisation of Sustainable Development Goals and global leadership in emerging issues including climate change,” he said.
On October 6, Ruto left Kenya for his maiden official visit in Africa starting with Ethiopia.
The visit also featured bilateral talks between him and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Ruto also attended the national launch of Safaricom Ethiopia.
A day after jetting back from Ethiopia, the President left the country yet again, this time to honour an invitation from Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni as they marked 60 years since attaining independence.
The trip came a few days after an online tiff between Kenya and Uganda that was triggered by a tweet made by general Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Museveni’s son.
He had claimed his army could capture Nairobi in no more than two weeks.
Ruto then proceeded to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania where he held bilateral talks with President Samia Suluhu.
He was seeking ways of expanding business opportunities and increasing trade volumes with Tanzania.
“Tanzania is a strategic partner in the EAC region and has been Kenya’s second largest export destination after Uganda in East Africa,” Talam said.
The two heads of states also held talks on having a borderless community in the East African region.
Kenya and Tanzania collaborate on many fronts including trade, security, transport and logistics. The two nation’s ties date back decades.According to State House, the foreign trips were meant to awaken Kenya’s poor diplomatic relations with the West.
In November, Ruto attended the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt.
Asa a result, the United Kingdom will fast-track new green investments in the country.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said his government is keen on using the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) to deepen the British investment partnership with Kenya.
Some of the investments include the Malindi Solar Expansion, Menengai Geothermal, Grand High Falls Dam and Nairobi Railway City.
Sunak recognised Kenya for pioneering climate leadership when he held bilateral talks with Ruto
On November 21, Ruto held talks with his DRC counterpart Felix Tshisekedi.
The visit was part of the ongoing process to bring peace and stability to the central African nation.
"President Ruto is working to bring the DRC and Kenya closer and has pledged to support the pacification of eastern DRC."
The visit by the President came at a time Kenya has sent a contingent of KDF troops to the war-torn state to help in the peace process.
Ruto proceeded to secure a Sh120 billion in funding from South Korea to help set up a smart city at Konza, some 60km southeast of Nairobi.
This came after he met with Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol in Seoul, where he went on a three-day official visit.
The Koreans also pledged to help build the Nairobi Intelligent Transport System and Bus Rapid Transit, two of Kenya’s projects mooted earlier but which have not taken shape.
State House said the Korean money will fund “various projects” in agriculture, ICT, health, energy, infrastructure, education and affordable housing.
Also, a huge chunk will go to the Konza city project.
It will be channelled through the Korean International Cooperation Agency, which means Seoul will send its own expertise to work on the project as well as gradually transfer the technology to Kenyans.
Ruto used his tour in South Korea, a first for a Kenyan head of state in 32 years, to market Kenya “as a suitable investment destination for foreign investors."