Over 10 Presidents Jet into Kenya to Attend AU Meeting

On the night of Saturday, July 15, President William Ruto welcomed ten African Presidents to Kenya for the fifth mid-year Coordination Meeting of the African Union, Regional Communities and Regional Mechanisms.

The Head of State sent members of his Cabinet to receive the African Dignitaries at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). Lands CS Zachariah Njeru received the Head of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohamed al-Menfi while Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi received the President of Comoros Azali Assoumani. Other dignitaries included Azzali Assoumani (Comoros), Ali Bongo (Gabon), Abdel Fattah (Egypt), Macky Sall (Senegal), Ismail Omar Guelleh (Djibouti), and Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Nigeria).

In a statement, Ruto remarked that the coordination meeting was an ‘important platform for the fulfilment of our shared goal to create a more prosperous and democratic Africa.’ The African Union noted that the event is intended to analyze the situation of continental integration, coordinate efforts to speed up the integration process, define tasks for each sector, recognize areas of collaboration, and devise mechanisms for regional, continental, and global cooperation. The Chairperson of the African Union Commission has arranged a live-streamed event at the United Nations Headquarters in Nairobi. 

According to Nigeria’s Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Alake, the theme of the meeting will be ‘Acceleration of African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation’. The meeting is expected to include organizations such as ECOWAS, the East African Community, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the Southern African Development Community, the Community of Sahel–Saharan States, the Arab Maghreb Union, and the Economic Community of Central African States.

President William Ruto is determined to make Kenya a diplomatic centre during his first year in office. In early 2023, he made an effort to mediate between the warring factions in the Sudan conflict.