President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to address world’s most powerful leaders in the G7 summit on May 26 and 27 in Taormina, Sicily, in Italy.
He is the only African leader who has been invited to the exclusive summit. State House spokesperson Manoah Esipisu confirmed that Uhuru will attend the summit.
“The President will honor the invitation because it is a great opportunity to place Kenya on the global stage yet again,” said Esipisu.
US President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President-elect Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and the UK’s Teresa May are some of the world leaders who will attend the summit.
European Union President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will also be at the summit.
This year’s summit will focus on environmental sustainability, security, the global economy and foreign policy.
According to the Star, Uhuru’s invitation is considered a ”diplomatic coup” as this is the first time a Kenyan president has been invited to the summit. Uhuru is also the only African president invited.
Prof Macharia Munene, a lecturer in diplomacy at USIU says that Uhuru’s invitation marks an end to victimization as an ICC suspect and now he will be viewed as a revered African leader.
“This marks the end of the transformation process of President Kenyatta from a pariah, who was wanted by the ICC before the 2013 election, to a respected man to go to in Africa,” he said.
On Tuesday while addressing the press before traveling to London for a conference to discuss Somalia’s stability, Uhuru said Kenya has established ties with her neighbors and the ripple effect will be to grow Kenya development-wise.
“Our engagement with the world is to open doors for Kenyans across the world and also to let the world know we are ready and committed to doing business with them,” Uhuru said.
During his talks with UK’s Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday, Uhuru engaged May on the possibility of having Kenyan exports get to UK’s market on a duty-free-quota-free basis once the country leaves the European Union.
In his tenure as Kenyan President, Uhuru has traveled far and wide across the globe seeking to establish economic ties with different entities who could propel Kenya to become Africa’s leading investment hub.