Ruto calls for refocus of global attention on forgotten conflicts in Africa
President William Ruto has called for a refocus of effective global attention on forgotten conflicts in Africa that are affecting millions of people.
He spoke on Wednesday after he held a bilateral meeting with Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The President said he had discussions on a broad range of important matters with the visiting PM.
“Foremost among these, I emphasised the need to refocus effective global attention on forgotten conflicts in Africa. I revisited our agreement with the recent G7 Ministerial statement, which noted the urgent need to reinforce peace and security in the Horn of Africa, meet serious humanitarian needs and build resilience in the region,” Ruto said.
He said they discussed the conflict in Sudan, which has resulted in hundreds of deaths, and they underscored the need for the international community to support Kenya, IGAD and the African Union in ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict.
“We further agreed to call for a cessation of hostilities immediately without pre-conditions, assure the safety of all civilians, including diplomatic and humanitarian personnel, and allow safe passage of humanitarian assistance and the safe movement of people seeking security.”
The PM who kicked off his overseas tour end of last month, has visited Egypt, Ghana and departs from Nairobi today as he heads to Maputo, Mozambique and thereafter concluded his trip in Singapore where he will race the Japan-Singapore Summit.
He is in Kenya to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Kenya and Japan.
In the past six decades, the two countries have successfully collaborated on highly impactful undertakings in many sectors.
In 2016, the late former PM Shinzo Abe held bilateral talks with retired president Uhuru Kenyatta at the State House on the sidelines of the inaugural African Tokyo International Conference on Africa Development (TICAD) held in Nairobi.
The two leaders then discussed a range of issues, with Abe expressing hope to further strengthen cooperation in areas such as developing the Mombasa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform.