President William Ruto boards a plane for a past foreign trip on January 6, 2025.
President William Ruto will represent Africa at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Evian, France, where he is expected to advance the continent’s priorities on investment, trade, debt reforms, climate action and digital transformation.
State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed said the President departs Monday night for France following an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to participate in the high-level global meeting of leading economies.
He said Ruto’s participation reflects growing international recognition of Kenya’s role in global affairs and Africa’s increasing demand for a unified voice in global economic and governance structures.
“President Ruto departs later tonight for Evian, France, at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron to participate in the G7 Leaders' Summit, where he will represent Africa and advance the continent's priorities before the world's leading economies,” Hussein Mohamed said.
State House said the President will present Africa’s unified position, as agreed at the Africa Forward Summit held in Nairobi last month, which set out a continental roadmap for economic transformation, financial reform, climate action, and digital development.
“In that capacity, the President will articulate Africa's unified position as concretised during the Africa Forward Summit held last month in Nairobi, which established a common continental agenda on economic transformation, financial reform, climate action and digital development,” Hussein said.
The summit will focus heavily on calls for reform of the international financial architecture, improved access to affordable capital, and expanded investment flows into African economies to support enterprise and job creation.
President Ruto is expected to join leaders of the world’s major economies, including French President Emmanuel Macron, United States President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, European Council President António Costa, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, alongside other invited leaders.
State House said the summit will provide a platform for discussions on global economic stability, security, climate change and technological transformation.
Ruto is expected to advocate for reforms to global financial systems to improve Africa’s access to credit and investment, while also pushing for stronger trade partnerships and infrastructure financing.
“The summit will provide an important platform for the President to champion Africa's case for reforms to the international financial architecture, affordable access to capital and investment, and implementation of the Africa Forward Summit's recommendations on financial and credit reform to unlock growth, enterprise and job creation across the continent, including expanded financing opportunities for Kenyan businesses and entrepreneurs,” Hussein said.
He added that Ruto will also push for deeper cooperation in trade, infrastructure, energy, climate resilience and innovation.
A key part of the President’s agenda will be the governance and deployment of artificial intelligence, with Kenya positioning itself as a regional digital hub.
“He will also champion stronger partnerships between Africa and the world's leading economies in trade, infrastructure, energy, climate resilience and innovation while advocating for renewed international solidarity and a more inclusive framework for shared global prosperity,” he added.
Ruto is expected to call for equitable access to emerging technologies and increased investment in digital infrastructure, data centres, innovation ecosystems and skills development.
“The President will further articulate Africa's position on the governance and deployment of Artificial Intelligence, advocating for equitable access to emerging technologies and increased investment in digital infrastructure, data centres, innovation ecosystems and skills development to ensure Africa plays a meaningful role in shaping the future digital economy,” Hussein said.
On the sidelines of the summit, Ruto will meet global technology leaders, including executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Nvidia, Mistral AI, Cohere, Black Forest Labs, Synthesia, Sakana AI, Domyn, Sarvam AI and Kakao.
These engagements aim to position Kenya as a leading innovation hub in Africa and to expand opportunities for youth through technology-driven job creation.
State House said the President will also hold bilateral meetings with several heads of state and government to strengthen strategic partnerships and attract investment into key sectors of Kenya’s economy.
“The engagements will focus on attracting investment into manufacturing, renewable energy, infrastructure, agribusiness, housing, healthcare, digital services and value-added exports, while unlocking opportunities under the National Infrastructure Fund to support economic growth, create jobs and improve livelihoods for Kenyans,” Hussein said.
Hussein added that Ruto’s participation is expected to strengthen Kenya’s economic diplomacy, deepen international partnerships and unlock new investment flows.
