DP William Ruto's itinerary in 10-day tour of US, UK

Deputy President William Ruto signs a visitors’ book during the 23rd Ordinary Summit of the African Union in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. [Standard, File]

Deputy President William Ruto will have a busy schedule in his 10-day tour of the United States and the United Kingdom, starting this Sunday.

Part of his itinerary will see the DP tour UK’s National Counter Terrorism Centre as well as the Pentagon – the US’s headquarter building of the Department of Defense.

According to Ababu Namwamba, DP’s Head of International Relations - WSR Presidential Campaign Secretariat, Ruto is honouring invites by senior government officials and top policy institutes in Washington, DC and London.

Namwamba said that the DP was invited to share his thoughts on foreign policy, democracy and governance, and expound his economic vision for Kenya and Africa.

His diary will begin in Washington where he is scheduled to meet, among others, officials of the State Department and the Pentagon as well as the US National Security Council (NISC) Advisor.

The National Security Advisor (NSA) with Jake Sullivan as the advisor, serves as the principal advisor to the US president on all national security-related issues.

Ruto will then speak at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and at the University of Arizona's Washington Entrepreneurship Hub.

Keep Reading

The USA leg of his trip will conclude with a meeting with Kenyans in Diaspora.

Ruto will then head to London where he is scheduled to meet with senior UK government officials.

While in London, Ruto will visit the National Counter-Terrorism Center; give talks at the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House).

He will later in the day meet a section of Kenyans living in the UK.

Ruto will also pay a courtesy call on the Archbishop of Canterbury, His Grace Justin Welby.

“Kenya remains a stable regional anchor state and a valued member of the global community, and the Deputy President's trip seeks to further strengthen ties with the country's traditional friends and partners,” read the statement.

Ruto was recently in Dubai where he visited Gatundu South M Moses Kuria in a hospital.

On Wednesday, February 23, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Ambassador Macharia Kamau confirmed that the DP had been cleared to travel outside the country.

In August 2021, Ruto was blocked from flying to Uganda after waiting at the airport for five hours.

Ruto and his team had arrived at Wilson Airport ready for the trip but were advised to seek clearance from the Head of Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet Joseph Kinyua.

In 2019, Ruto’s trip to the US and Canada was cancelled in what his team termed as “tight scheduling challenges”.