Raila to jet out of the country for USA
After cancelling concurrent Jamhuri Day celebrations, former prime minister Raila Odinga has announced that he will be traveling to the US.
Raila will travel on Saturday night, December 10, to join other African leaders in Washington, DC, according to a statement released on Friday.
The African Union High Representative for Infrastructure has confirmed that he will be gone for a week, according to his personal assistant Dennis Onyango.
“Raila Odinga is set to leave the country late Saturday, December 10, 2022, for a one-week visit to the US,” the statement reads.
Odinga will attend the US-African Leaders Summit with other world leaders as an AU representative. He will be in charge of discussions about encouraging infrastructure investment and achieving just energy transition.
Alongside the Summit, he will meet with representatives of civil society organizations, the public, and private sectors.
The announcement comes a day after he called off the parallel Jamhuri Day celebrations scheduled for December 12.
Raila will return by December 18 and is expected to continue with his scheduled public consultative meetings.
The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit will bring over 50 leaders from across the African continent to Washington, DC on December 13-15, 2022.
The Summit will show how persistently committed the United States is to Africa, underline the significance of U.S.-Africa relations, and highlight how closely they are working together on common global priorities.
The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit will build on shared values to better foster new economic engagement, strengthen the U.S.-Africa commitment to democracy and human rights, mitigate the effects of COVID-19 and future pandemics, work cooperatively to strengthen regional and global health, promote food security, advance peace and security, respond to the climate crisis, and strengthen ties with diaspora communities.