In his opening statement at KICC, Ruto said the world is at a consequential moment marked by geopolitical divisions, conflicts, economic volatility and climate pressures, arguing that “fragmentation cannot be the answer.”
“The times before us demand stronger cooperation, renewed multilateralism, and partnerships grounded not in hierarchy, but in sovereign equality, mutual respect, and shared responsibility,” Ruto said.
He said Africa’s development agenda must move away from dependency and unsustainable borrowing towards domestic resource mobilisation, innovation and mutually beneficial investment.
“The era in which Africa’s development was principally framed through aid, dependency, and unsustainable borrowing must give way to a new paradigm grounded in investment, innovation [and] domestic resource mobilisation,” he said, adding: “Africa is not part of the global problem. Africa is part of the global solution.”
Ruto said Africa’s growing population, resources and youthful talent make the continent a strategic actor in global affairs, noting that by 2050 one in every four people on earth will be African.
He also criticised what he termed structural bias in the international financial system, saying African countries continue to face high borrowing costs and distorted risk perceptions.
“The current international financial system remains structurally unequal,” he said, backing the establishment of an African Credit Rating Agency to address what he described as distortions in global credit ratings.
Ruto said Africa must increasingly finance its own transformation, citing large pools of savings held in pensions, insurance assets and central bank reserves that remain underutilised.
He backed coordination among African multilateral lenders and risk insurers, including the African Development Bank and ATI, saying these institutions are key to building “financial sovereignty”.
On Kenya’s domestic financing model, Ruto said the country has mobilised about $4 billion locally in the past three-and-a-half years to fund its affordable housing programme, which he said has created jobs and expanded home ownership.
Ruto also linked development to security, warning that conflicts, terrorism and organised crime continue to undermine stability and economic progress across Africa.
He called for reform of global peace and security governance, particularly the UN Security Council, saying it is “indefensible” for Africa to lack permanent representation.
“The reform of the Security Council is not merely an institutional adjustment. It is a moral obligation,” he said, reaffirming Kenya’s support for the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.
Ruto said the summit provides an opportunity to define “a new era of engagement” based on dignity, value creation and shared prosperity.
