Ruto set for three-day state visit to Ghana

President William Ruto will on Tuesday depart for Ghana for a three-day state visit designed to deepen trade and investment ties between Nairobi and Accra.

This is the first visit the Kenyan leader is making to the West African country after assuming power in September 2022.

Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Musalia Mudavadi, arrived in Accra on Monday evening ahead of Ruto's visit.

He was received by the Kenyan High Commissioner to Ghana, Eliphas Barine upon arrival at Kotoka International Airport.

"Kenya and Ghana are expected to sign bilateral agreements in areas of shared interests, including trade and investment, education and research, public service, and capacity building," Mudavadi's office said.

Kenya and Ghana have shared strong bonds of friendship that began during the independence struggle years, and Ruto will likely rekindle the fraternal ties between Kenya's founding father Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and Kwame Nkrumah.

In Accra, Ruto and his host, Nana Akuffo-Ado, at the Jubilee House, the presidential palace in Ghana, are anticipated to discuss strategies for enhancing trade among African countries.

Kenyan President William Ruto with his Ghana counterpart Nana Akufo-Addo on December 10, 2019. (Photo: DPPS)

A Ghanaian media source told The Eastleigh Voice that a "welcoming artwork with Ruto's image" is being displayed at the Jubilee House.

African trade

It's noteworthy that the coordination and execution of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is managed by the AfCFTA secretariat, stationed in the Ghanaian capital.

President Ruto is a strong proponent of AfCFTA and in October 2022 he flagged off the first consignment of Kenyan tea destined for Accra, Ghana, under the African Continental Free Trade Area guided trade initiative.

Also, likely to appear during these talks is Raila Odinga's candidature for the African Union Commission's Chairmanship, where President Ruto will seek his Ghanaian counterparts' support for the Kenyan candidate.

Nairobi and Accra have previously exchanged high-level visits including a visit by the former Ghanaian leader John Dramani Mahama in December 2014.

Former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta reciprocated the gesture by making a state visit to Ghana in 2016.

The trade flow between Kenya and Ghana was in favour of Kenya which in 2022 exported goods valued at Sh1.2 billion to Ghana against imports valued at Sh710 million.

Kenya's major exports to Ghana include sugar confectionery, plant and equipment, plastics, jute, medicament and articles of rubber while imports from Ghana include cocoa, wire products, machines and tools, and natural rubber among others.