The state visit by Finnish President Alexander Stubb was the highlight of President William Ruto’s week.
It was the first-ever visit to Kenya by a Finnish President.
The visit marked a significant step in strengthening bilateral ties between Kenya and Finland through high-level discussions on trade, climate action, and education partnerships.
Stubb who arrived in the country Monday held bilateral talks with the President before they witnessed the signing of two MoUs.
The MoUs are on political consultations, and peace mediation and conflict resolution, key instruments in advancing their shared values and global partnerships.
According to Ruto, Kenya deeply values its longstanding friendship with Finland, a key development partner in Europe and a steadfast supporter of our national ambitions.
“We are committed to leveraging Finland’s expertise in education, technology, renewable energy, and climate action to accelerating our country’s transformation,” he said.
May 12 (Monday)
Earlier on, Ruto attended the second edition of the Kenya-EU Business forum in Nairobi, where we launched the European Union Chamber that aims to deepen Kenya-EU private sector collaboration.
Here, he urged the Kenya European Union Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Council to explore innovative ways to address current and emerging barriers to unlock the vast potential of Kenya-EU trade.
“On our part, we are implementing pro-trade policies with the goal of building a competitive, resilient economy, strengthening mutually beneficial partnerships, and fostering inclusive wealth creation and generating opportunities,” he said.
He later held talks with European Investment Bank Vice President Thomas Ostros on the sidelines of the Kenya–European Union Business Forum.
According to Ruto, Östros reaffirmed the Bank’s continued support to accelerate our development agenda.
He said the European Investment Bank remains one of our closest development partners, with a strong footprint in energy, MSME support, and infrastructure.
“We are advancing key priority projects, Mwache Dam, the Olkaria geothermal expansion, and the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, as part of our broader development agenda.”
“In addition, we are deepening partnerships with the Bank to enhance the capacity of our financial institutions, enabling them to better support enterprise growth.
In the evening, he hosted a state banquet for the visiting head of state at State House.
May 13 (Tuesday)
He held a meeting with Fuzhou Benny Tea Industries Chairman Zhang Chaobin to discuss ways of increasing access to our tea in the Chinese market as a follow-up to the recent State Visit to China.
Benny is one of the top three companies in China's supply chain industry in tea production and retail.
Refined orthodox teas are the core of Benny's products.
The engagement brought together stakeholders in the tea sector, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya Tea Development Agency and the Kenya Tea Board. Kenya's Deputy Head of Mission in China, Ambassador Lynette Ndile, was also present.
“This strategy underlines our cutting-edge push to boost growth, packaging,g and export of orthodox and specialty teas to the global market,” he said.
Ruto said their plan to boost agricultural production, expand markets and increase farmers' earnings has been progressing well.
“We are not only harvesting more maize and producing more tea, coffee and sugar, but the prices of these products have improved significantly.”
During the same day, he hosted leaders from Machakos, Makueni and Kitui counties at State House.
It was aimed at discussing critical infrastructure projects, including roads, water, education, affordable housing, and markets that are essential to the region’s transformation.
“We are aligning our development agenda with the priorities of the people through continuous consultation with leaders and stakeholders,” said the Head of State.
He noted that the objective is to deliver inclusive growth from the bottom up.
May 16 (Friday)
He inspected the completed works at the Galana-Kulalu Food Security project in Kilifi and Tana River counties.
The Sh519.4 million infrastructure, he said, is currently undergoing final testing.
It comprises a 753-metre inlet canal, a 450 million litre reservoir, a 1,210-metre outlet canal, and a 20 million-litre off-take water supply source.
“Through a public-private partnership, we are now poised to significantly scale up food production in line with our commitment to making Kenya food sufficient,” he stated.
He also inspected the construction of the Galana-Kulalu bridge and access road, a critical infrastructure that will facilitate the efficient movement of produce from the farms to markets.
Later, he inspected the construction of the project's electricity supply, which will lower the cost of production by eliminating the use of diesel to power the farm.
