President Ruto to attend Igad meeting in Djibouti
President William Ruto. He will be among heads of state and government attending the 14th Ordinary Session of Igad in Djibouti.
President William Ruto will be among heads of state and government attending the 14th Ordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) in the Republic of Djibouti.
Dr Ruto, who is expected to fly out of the country this evening, will hold bilateral talks with his Djibouti counterpart, President Ismail Omar Guelleh, with a view to strengthening and deepening the existing ties between the two nations.
Discussions are expected to cover a range of mutual interests including trade relations, green energy cooperation and the pursuit of regional peace and security.
The Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has in the past won mega contracts to drill geothermal wells in Djibouti.
KenGen has drilled three geothermal wells in the country after an extensive period of studies and exploration.
Djibouti and Kenya first established diplomatic relations on 27 June 1977, following Djibouti's independence.
In May 2021, President Kenyatta visited Djibouti to attend the inauguration of President Guelleh.
Both countries are founder members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa). They are also founding members of the Igad trading bloc.
At the same time, President Ruto will also address members of the Djibouti Parliament.
On Monday, Dr Ruto will join other leaders for the opening session of the Igad meeting.
This is the first time the Igad Summit will be held since 2019, and the promotion of regional diplomacy and cooperation will top the agenda.
The meeting comes at a time when the restive Horn of Africa is witnessing a bloody conflict in Sudan between two rival generals, which erupted in April.
In its latest report, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reveals the scale of the fighting, which has killed more than 600 people and injured thousands more.
The UN agency says nearly 1.4 million people have been displaced as the fighting continues.
