William Ruto Leaves Country For China, Outlines Expected Benefits For Kenya

• President William Ruto will represent Kenya at the 9th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit
• African heads of state, Chinese leaders, and the African Union Commission will convene at the forum to enhance Sino-African relations
• Ruto will co-chair a session on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), highlighting Kenya's involvement in significant infrastructure projects during the visit
• Hussein Mohamed, Statehouse Spokesperson, said the visit is expected to yield significant benefits for Kenya

Elijah Ntongai, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, has more than three years of financial, business, and technology research expertise, providing insights into Kenyan and global trends.

President William Ruto is set to leave the country for an official visit to China on Sunday evening, September 1.

Ruto will lead the Kenyan delegation at the 9th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit

This summit will bring together African heads of state, Chinese leaders, and the African Union Commission with a focus on enhancing Sino-African relations.

What will William Ruto do in China?

According to a press statement released by State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed, Ruto has been entrusted with co-chairing a session titled "Pursuing High-Quality Belt and Road Initiative Cooperation: A Platform for Modernisation Featuring Planning, Building, and Benefiting Together."

This session will address critical discussions on Kenya's role in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a central element of FOCAC, where Kenya has seen significant investment in infrastructure projects such as the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and the Nairobi Expressway.

How will Kenya benefit from William Ruto's visit to China?

In the press release seen by TUKO.co.ke, the State House spokesperson explained that Ruto's visit to China is anticipated to yield significant benefits for Kenya and noted that;

"China is one of Kenya’s largest trading partners with bilateral trade volumes exceeding $8 billion (KSh. 1.04 trillion) between 2022 and 2023. President Ruto’s visit will strengthen joint efforts to diversify projects to cover agriculture, food security, creative economy, e-commerce, manufacturing, health, environmental conservation and financial services."

Here is a list of expected benefits as outlined by the statehouse spokesperson:

1. Strengthened strategic partnership with China: A joint commitment to building a Kenya-China community with a shared future.
2. 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.
3. Conclusion of discussions on new cooperation projects such as the extension and completion of SGR phases 2B and 2C (Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba), dualling of the Nairobi Northern Bypass, among other vital infrastructure projects.
4. Commencement of talks on establishing a pharmaceutical park, Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and Investment Protection Agreement (IPA).

Gov't borrows KSh 40b from China to revive stalled road projects

Earlier, TUKO.co.ke reported that Ruto would travel to China to ink a KSh 40 billion loan deal from the Asian country on Sunday.

National Assembly Budget Committee chair Ndindi Nyoro said Kenya's infrastructure requires heavy funding to resolve the pending bills crisis and revive stalled projects.

Proofreading by Otukho Jackson, a multimedia journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke