The President of Kenya, William Ruto, says he has secured Zimbabwe’s support for Raila Odinga’s bid for the African Union (AU) Commission chairmanship.
Kenya has presented its candidature for AUC Chairperson for 2025 – 2028, Ruto made the announcement.
This comes in the wake of a unanimous decision by the African Union Executive Council, on 15th March 2024, that the Eastern Africa region submit candidates for the AU Chairperson.
President Ruto said Kenya candidature is informed by the role that the country plays in enhancing the Pan–African Agenda.
“I am assured that Kenya and Zimbabwe will persist in conferring and backing each other on multitude issues of bilateral, regional and continental significance alongside the African Union Agenda 2063,” said President Ruto.
He made the remarks at the Bulawayo State House, Zimbabwe on Saturday, during bilateral talks with his counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa.
During the bilateral meeting, Kenya and Zimbabwe signed nine MoUs in the fields of transport, infrastructure, health, education, defense, trade and investments among other areas.
President Mnagangwa emphasized on the need for investors to exploit existing opportunities in the two countries.
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Meanwhile, the leaders of Kenya and Zimbabwe expressed the willingness to leverage on their countries’ rich shared history, socio-cultural, political and economic ties as well as abundant natural resources for the mutual benefit of their citizens.
President Ruto said the two countries have a deep understanding which underpins mutual support over the years in diverse arenas.
“Based on this, I wish to declare Kenya’s unreserved support for Zimbabwe’s readmission to the Commonwealth, and for the African Union’s call for the immediate lifting of all illegal sanctions against the Republic of Zimbabwe,” said Ruto.
“I stand here to affirm Kenya’s commitment to the flourishing of our bilateral relations, and our shared determination to advance and enhance mutual benefit through partnership and consultation,” he added.
Ruto said President Mnagangwa’s emphatic commitment to accelerate the development of energy, transport and communications infrastructure as enablers of trade and investment, productivity and efficiency and, ultimately rapid economic growth is a substantial testament to the boldness and ambition of his vision for Zimbabwe’s economic turnaround.
“To underscore this observation, I further note your government’s decision to break new ground in monetary policy and inaugurate a new currency backed by gold and other asset reserves, as compelling proof of Your Excellency’s irrevocable intent to usher in a new era of economic recovery and transformation,” said Ruto.
The Kenyan president affirmed that he was confident the two countries are poised to accomplish immense growth together, on the basis of the bilateral frameworks of cooperation in the numerous areas of potential mutual gains.
For his part, Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe will forever be grateful to Kenya for standing resolutely with the country, particularly in the clarion and unequivocal call for the removal of illegal Western-imposed economic sanctions.
“We have a common and rich liberation war history and a shared vision for prosperity, peace and progress. As we look into the future, we must now leverage on the current social, political and economic ties as well as natural endowments for the mutual benefit of our two countries and peoples,” said Mnagangwa.
He said Zimbabwe also took a leaf from Kenya, especially in infrastructure development that is now ubiquitous in the country as roads, that were in a state of disrepair, which were now being resurfaced in every part of the country.
“We are on course to attain our national Vision 2030 to become an empowered upper middle-income economy. The reforms undertaken since the inception of the Second Republic have seen a conducive business environment, which has in-turn increased both local and foreign investments across all sectors,” he said.