President Ruto in South Sudan, His Ninth Foreign Trip Since Inauguration

President Ruto on Saturday arrived in South Sudan for an official State visit, making it the ninth country he has visited since his inauguration on September 13th.

Ruto landed in Juba on Saturday afternoon where he was welcomed by his host President Salva Kiir ahead of their talks on various matters including the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor project.

The current visit comes barely a week after his return from a three-day official State tour to South Korea where he secured a Sh120 billion loan from the South Korean government to fund projects in health, ICT and agriculture, energy, housing, and urban transportation.

Before flying to South Korea, Ruto visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo where he held bilateral talks with President Felix Tshisekedi.

In November, the president also attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, where he articulated Africa’s case for climate action un his capacity as the chair of the African Heads of State and Government Climate Change Committee.

Ruto visited Uganda for their 60th Independence Day celebrations and Tanzania for two days each between October 8th and 10th. He held talks with presidents Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) and Samia Suluhu (Tanzania).

On October 6th, the president flew to neighboring Ethiopia to join Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in witnessing the opening of Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia.

Ruto paid a two-day state visit to the United Kingdom in September to attend the burial of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch. He then flew to the United States to attend the United Nations General Assembly’s 77th session, as well as a meeting with US President Joe Biden.

Ruto appears to be following in the footsteps of his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta, who made 150 official state visits during his 10-year reign between March 2013 and August 2022.

The has been traveling the world in an effort to boost the country’s bilateral ties, secure funding for various projects, and grow the market for Kenyan exports.