Ruto returns to UN General Assembly with old message on climate, debt and tech
President William Ruto.
President William Ruto departed on Wednesday for his latest trip to the US, his third since he became President, to push for his pet ideas on climate change, debt policy shifts and tech innovations.
A dispatch released by State House on Wednesday evening said President Ruto will travel for a series of meetings with American tech giants and government officials, and attend and address the upcoming UN General Assembly.
Hussein Mohammed, the State House spokesperson said the President is travelling for two key reasons: underscoring Kenya’s commitment to tech innovation and as a key trading partner of the US. Both countries have been negotiating a US-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership pact, hinging on good governance, anti-corruption ideals, environmental conservation, and trade.
“President Ruto will visit the Silicon Valley where he will meet with tech leaders of Microsoft, Intel, Google and Apple, among others,” Mr Mohamed said in a statement, indicating he will market Kenya’s own ‘Silicon Savannah’ to the tech giants.
“President will emphasise Kenya’s young talent, green initiatives and its value as an alternative supply chain for American companies.”
Ruto’s first trip as President to the US last year saw him address the 77th UN General Assembly in New York, just days after he took oath of office. He returned to Washington in December last year where he attended the US-Africa Summit, a meeting between US President Joe Biden and African leaders.
This time, as last year, President Ruto’s ideas on climate change, debt and global financing restructuring as well as technology, will feature. He is due to address the 78th UN General Assembly general debate next week, according to a tentative programme released by the UN secretariat.
Last year, Ruto warned that rising nationalism was undermining collective action and the ability of the international community to guarantee fundamental rights. And he said developing countries such as Kenya are calling for reforms within global bodies to help their economies recover from global shocks. For Kenya and peers, he argued, it was “daily battle for survival.”
“Developing countries, being heavily burdened by external debt servicing, run the risk of losing development gains due to the shocks inflicted by the pandemic and associated disruptions,” he said.
“I call upon global financial institutions and the international community to take urgent measures and release all existing financial instruments to provide much-needed additional liquidity and secure better fiscal space for developing countries like Kenya to enhance social investment, support climate change adaptation and mitigation, address security needs and resolve development financing challenges.”
Then, as last week when he addressed the Africa Climate Summit, Ruto had said “little progress has been made in respect of the needful actions”.
Ruto is due to attend high-level UN meetings on sustainable development goals as well as dialogue on financing development, and another on climate ambition summit, scheduled to run from September 20 to September 23.
“I call for stronger global partnerships to enhance ICT infrastructure in developing countries and bridge the yawning digital divide between the global south and the rest of the world,” he said last year at the UN General Assembly.
