President Uhuru Kenyatta to leave Kenya for Singapore Summit and UN General Assembly meeting in New York

Uhuru to leave Kenya for high-level campaigns in New York

Tony Mukere

September 17, 2019 12:18 PM

Busy week for the President

President Uhuru Kenyatta to leave Kenya for Singapore Summit and UN General Assembly meeting in New York

President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to leave the country for a busy schedule of engagements that will also see him campaign for Kenya’s bid to have a non-permanent seat in the United Nations.

State House on Tuesday issued an announcement indicating that President Kenyatta will this week travel to Singapore for the 2019 Singapore Summit where he will be one of the speakers. The Singapore Summit will be held on Friday and Saturday.

“The President, who will be attending the Summit at the invitation of Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong of Singapore, will speak about Kenya's growth trajectory and opportunities for growth in East Africa,” State House spokesperson Kanze Dena said in part.

From Singapore, the head of state will attend the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States.

State House said President Kenyatta will use the visit to lobby other nations to vote for Kenya to have a non permanent seat in the UN Security Council. The elections are slated for June 2020.

“While in the US, the President is expected to intensify Kenya's campaign for one of the non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council (UNSC) for which the country recently secured the backing of the African Union,” the statement added.

In August, Kenya’s campaign got a boost after it was endorsed by the African Union, defeating Djibouti which had also sought the support of the African nations.

Djibouti, however, declined to support Kenya and stayed on the race which will be decisively decided when the UN member states vote next year.

Tony Mukere