BRUSSELS, Belgium — President William Ruto has called for deeper cooperation between Europe and the Global South, urging reforms to global financial institutions and the United Nations Security Council during talks with European Council President António Costa in Brussels.
The President said Kenya values the European Council’s continued support in strengthening partnerships focused on investment, trade, climate action and sustainable development.
The meeting reviewed progress made under the Kenya-European Union Economic Partnership Agreement and explored opportunities to expand collaboration in trade, investment and economic growth.
“We reviewed the progress of the Kenya-European Partnership Agreement and explored ways of deepening collaboration in trade and investment, and economic growth,” Ruto said.
The President noted that discussions also focused on peace and security cooperation, with both sides examining ways to enhance stability in the Horn of Africa and the wider region.
President Ruto used the meeting to advocate for reforms of the global financial architecture, arguing that current international systems do not adequately support developing economies despite their significant contribution to global growth and climate solutions.
He said Africa possesses enormous untapped potential, including vast natural resources, renewable energy capacity, fertile agricultural land, a youthful workforce and an expanding consumer market.
According to Ruto, reforms would help unlock these opportunities and generate shared prosperity for both developed and developing nations.
The President further highlighted Africa’s role in the global transition to clean energy, saying the continent’s renewable energy resources could significantly contribute to global decarbonisation efforts while supporting Europe’s energy and climate objectives.
The talks also addressed long-standing calls for reform of global governance institutions, particularly the United Nations Security Council.
Ruto appealed for greater support toward restructuring the council to better reflect current geopolitical realities and ensure fairer representation of Africa and other regions that remain underrepresented in key international decision-making processes.
“We also appealed for support in reforming global institutions, particularly the United Nations Security Council, to ensure they reflect current geopolitical realities and serve all nations more fairly,” he said.
The meeting comes as Kenya continues to strengthen its diplomatic and economic engagement with European partners while positioning itself as a leading voice for Africa on issues of climate action, sustainable development, international finance and global governance reform.
The European Union remains one of Kenya’s largest trading partners and a key source of development financing, investment and technical cooperation across multiple sectors of the economy.
