NAIROBI, Kenya, June 26 — President William Ruto is set to embark on an official State visit to Madagascar, marking his sixth foreign trip in just over two months.
The visit comes days after the President returned from a five-day tour of Europe, where he held bilateral engagements before attending the G7 Summit in France.
Ruto will be accompanied by several Cabinet Secretaries, including Trade CS Lee Kinyanjui, ICT CS William Kabogo and Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe, who are expected to participate in a Kenya–Madagascar Business Forum aimed at promoting trade and investment between the two countries.
During the visit, the President is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Madagascar’s leadership and join the country’s 66th Independence Day celebrations.
The discussions are expected to focus on expanding cooperation in agriculture, information and communication technology (ICT), trade and aviation, as Nairobi and Antananarivo seek to deepen economic ties.
Madagascar becomes the latest stop in a series of high-level foreign engagements by Ruto since late April, following visits to Kazakhstan, South Africa, Belgium, Norway, Finland, and France as part of his administration’s drive to strengthen diplomatic and commercial relations with strategic partners.
The trip also follows a meeting between President Ruto and Madagascar’s leader in Nairobi during the Africa Forward Summit last month, where the two sides pledged to enhance cooperation in trade, investment and regional integration.
This becomes the first official State visit by a Kenyan Head of State to Madagascar since the two countries gained independence, underscoring Nairobi’s growing engagement with the Indian Ocean island nation.