President William Ruto is set to fly out to Beijing on Sunday evening for China for the ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
Ruto is among other heads of state who will attend the high-level summit that will focus on improving the China-Africa partnership.
The summit will take place in Beijing from September 4-6, 2024.
The summit’s theme, “Joining Hands to Advance Modernisation 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.
FOCAC is an official forum between China and all states in Africa with the exception of the Kingdom of Eswatini.
It is the primary multilateral coordination mechanism between African countries and China, and since 2018, it has been viewed by those countries as a cooperation platform within the Belt and Road Initiative.
"President Ruto has been honored with the responsibility of co-chairing a session on “Pursuing High-Quality Belt and Road Initiative Cooperation: A Platform for Modernisation Featuring Planning, Building, and Benefiting Together” at the
High-Level Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) event," read a statement by Hussein Mohamed the State House Spokesperson.The trip will mark Ruto’s first trip overseas since the country was hit by a wave of protests by the Gen Zs.
The president’s last trip outside Africa was during the inaugural Korea-Africa summit on June 4, 2024.
The visit to China is expected to bring substantial benefits to Kenya through a series of strategic agreements and partnerships. Key outcomes include a strengthened Kenya-China relationship, with both nations committing to a shared future.
The visit is set to result in agreements on crucial infrastructure projects, including the construction of rural roads, the Nairobi Intelligent Transport System, the Bosto Dam Water Supply Project, and the third phase of upgrading equipment in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) workshops.
Additionally, discussions are expected to conclude on new cooperation projects, such as the extension and completion of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Naivasha to Kisumu and Malaba, as well as the dualling of the Nairobi Northern Bypass.
Talks will also commence on establishing a pharmaceutical park and negotiating a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and an Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) between Kenya and China.
The youth-led protests, which began on June 18 as a call to abandon the unpopular Finance Bill 2024, saw Ruto dismiss his entire Cabinet and build a new one under a broad-based government.
Ruto’s only trip was when he attended the inauguration of President Paul Kagame in Kigali, Rwanda.
Speaking in Bungoma on Sunday, Ruto said he would leave the country later in the day to seek development prospects.
China and African countries are expected to hold discussions on partnerships in fields such as green energy, and internet connectivity, and also explore political alliances.
China is one of Kenya’s largest trading partners with bilateral trade volumes exceeding $8 billion (KSh. 1.04 trillion) between 2022 and 2023.
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.
