President William Ruto has arrived in New York for the 81st United Nations General Assembly, where he is expected to lead Kenya’s push for new investments and partnerships.
Ruto left Kenya on Saturday, September 19, and arrived in New York on Sunday ahead of the high-level UNGA meetings.
His agenda will focus on attracting African and global capital into key sectors, including energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, health, agriculture and technology.
A major focus of the visit will be the proposed KSh2.2 trillion ($17 billion) East Africa Refinery in Lamu.
Ruto will co-chair investment roundtables hosted by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI) alongside Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote.
According to State House, the proposed refinery will have a capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and is expected to create more than 60,000 jobs.
The project is scheduled to break ground on September 30, 2026, with the government saying it will strengthen regional energy security and expand Kenya’s role in the East African energy and industrial market.
Ruto will also use the UN platform to push Kenya’s ambitions in the digital and artificial intelligence economy.
He and Finnish President Alexander Stubb will co-lead the AI Middle Powers Initiative, which seeks to enable countries to combine computing resources, data and talent to build AI capabilities.
Kenya will also advance the Africa Development Bank-backed AI 10 Billion Initiative, which seeks to mobilise up to $10 billion by 2035 for investment across Africa.
“On Artificial Intelligence, President Ruto and President Alexander Stubb of Finland will co-lead the AI Middle Powers Initiative,” State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed said.
The President is also expected to champion an “Africa-financing-Africa” approach, calling for reforms and international guarantees to unlock more African capital for infrastructure and businesses.
State House says Africa has more than $4 trillion in domestic savings and assets that could be leveraged to finance development.
Ruto will further highlight Kenya’s National Infrastructure Fund, which the government says could mobilise up to $40 billion without adding to public debt.
On the sidelines of the General Assembly, the President will hold meetings with heads of state, global corporations and multilateral institutions as Kenya seeks to expand trade, investment and diplomatic cooperation.
He is also expected to meet Kenyans living in the United States as the government advances plans for a Diaspora Investment Platform aimed at channeling diaspora capital into productive investments at home.
