President William Ruto will skip the Russia-Africa summit presided over by Russian President Vladimir Putin, State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed has announced.
In a statement, Mohamed said that Ruto will be represented by African Union organs as per the agreement of the African Heads of State and Governments.
“The President will therefore be represented in accordance with Decision 762, and he has informed the Chairperson of the AU accordingly,” Mohamed stated.
The summit which will focus on issues like trade, security, arms deals, and grain supplies will be held at St Petersburg on Thursday and Friday.
“The decision aligns with the stance of African Heads of State and Government, who believe that in order for Africa to engage in meaningful discussions with global partners, partnership summits organized by external parties need to be reviewed to establish an effective framework for African Union partnerships,” Mohamed added.
The Moscow Times reported that Presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov said that only 17 of 49 states participating in the summit will be represented by their respective heads of state, including Egypt, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
In 2019, Russia pledged to double trade with African nations to $40 billion but the promise has not seen the light of day, with trade dropping to $14 billion. Roughly 70 per cent of that trade is with just four countries including Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and South Africa.
