Ruto to join fellow Presidents in AU leaders meeting at UNEP

President William Ruto will on Sunday join other African Head of State for the Fifth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting (5th MYCM) of the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities, the Regional Mechanisms

The meeting will be held at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Headquarters in Nairobi.

The meeting will be convened under the AU theme of the year 2023 “Acceleration of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation”. 

At least 10 African Presidents arrived in the country on Saturday night.

The Head of State received Comoros President Azzali Assoumani, Ali Bongo (Gabon), Abdel Fattah (Egypt), Macky Sall (Senegal), Ismail Omar Guelleh (Djibouti),  and Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Nigeria).

The Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development Zachariah Njeru was at the JKIA to receive and welcome the Head of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohamed al-Menfi.

The other Heads of State and Governments who are attending the meeting include the Presidents of Gabon, Egypt, Comoros, Botswana, Senegal, Chad, Burundi (also the Chairperson of the East African Community), Algeria, DRC and Djibouti.

The Presidents who arrived before 7.00 pm included the President of Comoros Azali Assoumani who was received by Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi and the President of Egypt Abdel Fatah El-Sisi who was welcomed by Defence CS Aden Duale.

The President of Gabon Ali Bongo Ondiba was received by Health CS Susan Nakhumicha and the President of Senegal Macky Sall who was received by Energy CS Davis Chirchir.

In a statement, President William Ruto acknowledged that the coordination meeting was a 'crucial platform for the advancement of our shared vision to build a more prosperous and democratic Africa.'

According to the African Union, the event is aimed at assessing the status of continental integration and coordinating efforts to accelerate the integration process.

Other roles include coordinating the implementation of a clear division of labour and effective collaboration and identifying areas of cooperation and establishing mechanisms for regional, continental and global cooperation in each sector or subsector.

The press conference will be addressed by the Chairperson of the Union and the Chairperson of the AU Commission.