President William Ruto and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky have agreed to deepen bilateral ties, focusing on agriculture, education, and high-tech cooperation.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The two leaders held talks on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Évian, France, on June 17 where President Ruto was the only African Head of State in attendance.

Their discussions zeroed in on practical areas where both nations agreed to deepen their ties on areas such as investment attraction, agriculture, education, and advancement of high-tech, with both sides committing to let their teams iron out the finer details.

“During a meeting with the President of Kenya, William Ruto, we discussed the development of high-tech cooperation across various sectors: investment attraction, agriculture, and education,” stated President Zelensky.

📌 What You Need to Know

“We are ready to share our experience with Kenya and implement joint projects. We agreed that our teams will work out the details of possible cooperation.”

The two countries already share a foundation of agreements totalling about Ksh2 billion (roughly USD15 million) spanning several sectors. These include a grain hub deal that would see a Ukrainian grain facility established at the Port of Mombasa to bolster food security across East Africa.

Beyond food, Kenya and Ukraine have an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between their respective space agencies for peaceful outer space exploration, as well as an agreement on aviation safety oversight.

Business linkages are also in place, with Kenya's Private Sector Alliance and the East African Chamber of Commerce (EACC) formally connected to Ukraine's Council of Exporters and Investors through signed MoUs.

Kenya has also backed Ukraine at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), voting in support of resolutions related to the ongoing conflict with Russia, a gesture President Zelensky acknowledged during their meeting.

President Ruto has also consistently been vocal about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, repeatedly describing it as unlawful and a direct violation of the United Nations Charter since taking office.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke