[PHOTOS] Ruto arrives in Ethiopia for Safaricom launch

President William Ruto has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he is expected to preside over the launch of Safaricom.

Ruto will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali in Addis Ababa ahead of the event.

"Kenya is keen on exploring new areas of cooperation for the mutual benefit of the people," Ruto said on Safaricom's venture in Ethiopia.

"We are exploring new fronts in our relations with Ethiopia to pursue shared interests, especially in the area of technology, for our mutual prosperity," he added.

In July this year, Safaricom announced that it will start commercial services in Ethiopia.

The company, part of the Vodafone group, has been under mounting pressure over its failure to meet previous launch deadline in April 2022.

The phased commercial launch will commence in October, culminating in the switching on of Safaricom network in 25 cities across Ethiopia by April 2023.