'Africa is not a problem to resolve,' Ruto tells G7 leaders

Flags of the Group of Seven (G7) member nations and invited partner countries flutter at the summit venue in Évian-les-Bains, France, on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, as leaders gather to discuss global economic stability, security and climate change. [PCS]

 President William Ruto has told Group of Seven (G7) leaders that Africa must be treated as an equal partner in the new global order, not a recipient of aid.

Speaking on the sidelines of the summit in Évian, France, on Tuesday, June 16, Ruto framed Africa's case in direct terms.

"Africa is not a problem to resolve. Africa is a task," said Ruto. "Africa is not anybody's liability."

The remarks marked Kenya's sharpest articulation yet of a position Ruto has been building since hosting the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi in 2023 and the Africa Forward Summit last month, where 33 heads of state attended alongside France.

Ruto said the current international architecture, including the United Nations (UN), was no longer fit for purpose and that Africa had been absent when global institutions were last configured.

He called for a UN Security Council (UNSC) that is representative, democratic and accountable, arguing that reform goes to the heart of the body's legitimacy.

"It is not going to be a relationship about aid, charity or assistance," said Ruto.

 "Extraction is no longer acceptable," he added.

He told reporters that three sessions at the summit would address forging new international partnerships, a shared development paradigm and the role of technology, including artificial intelligence (AI).

On AI, Ruto said Africa intended to help write the rules of the emerging technological order, not merely consume its products.

"Africa is going to be a co-creator. We want to be at the centre of it, to write the rules together," said Ruto.

The president said Africa holds four trillion dollars in pension funds, insurance resources and central bank reserves, but lacks mechanisms to mobilise those assets.

He called on G7 partners to help unlock those mechanisms and said he expected to leave the summit with concrete proposals on concessional finance access.

Ruto also took aim at global credit rating agencies, which he said systematically exaggerate Africa's risk profile, undermining the continent's economic prospects.

He said Africa borrows at interest rates higher than comparable economies elsewhere in the world.

By 2050, he noted, 40 per cent of the world's workforce and 25 per cent of its population will live in Africa.

"We are not asking for Africa to be treated in a special way," said Ruto, adding,  "We are asking for Africa to be treated equally."