President Ruto heads to Qatar for UN summit

President William Ruto alights from a Kenya Airways plane. [PCS]

President William Ruto will on Monday evening fly to Qatar for the second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2) organised by the United Nations, his office has announced.

The three-day event will begin on Tuesday, November 4, and will be officially opened by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

“President William Ruto departs this evening for Doha, Qatar, to strengthen economic partnerships, attract investment, and participate in the UN Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2), which will focus on poverty reduction, decent work, and social inclusion,” said the President’s Spokesperson, Hussein Mohammed.

The president’s diary while in Qatar will be packed with activities on the sidelines of the summit.

With heads of state and government expected to attend, President Ruto aims to ink bilateral infrastructure deals cutting across various sectors, including transport and energy, while courting investments to boost trade and development.

According to Mohammed, Kenya will lobby for more Qatari jobs when President Ruto meets His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, to add to the thousands of jobs taken up by Kenyans in the Middle East.

“To expand youth employment and strengthen diaspora contribution, the President will pursue the expansion of the Kenya-Qatari Bilateral Labour Agreement to include more professional and technical roles, and enhance skills-training aligned with Qatar's labour market needs,” read part of the statement.

Further, the Kenyan delegation will meet investors to push for partnerships in agriculture, green energy, health, tourism, and logistics.

Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Musalia Mudavadi, has already arrived in Doha for the summit.

The UN says that 14,000 delegates are expected to attend the high-level event, including ministers, civil society members, youth leaders, and private sector actors.

The global leaders will review progress made since the first World Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen, Denmark, thirty years ago. 

The 1995 inaugural conference produced the Copenhagen Declaration and 10 commitments on Social Development, which continue to shape international cooperation around poverty eradication, employment creation, and social inclusion.

During the Summit, President William Ruto will deliver Kenya’s national statement and speak for the continent on the push for a fair global financial system and equal representation in global organisations.

Africa has long demanded a permanent seat at the UN Security Council.