President Ruto promotes Kenya’s $17bn refinery and AI agenda at UN

President William Ruto is attending the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York to advance Kenya’s investment and technology agenda. A primary focus of his visit is the proposed $17 billion (Ksh2.2 trillion) East Africa Refinery in Lamu, which is expected to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and create over 60,000 jobs. Ruto is scheduled to co-chair investment roundtables with industrialist Aliko Dangote through the Africa Finance Corporation and the Global Africa Business Initiative.

In addition to energy infrastructure, the President is promoting an “Africa-financing-Africa” approach to leverage the continent’s $4 trillion in domestic assets for development. He is also advocating for Kenya’s role in the global digital and AI economy.

On the sidelines of the summit, Ruto met with the Kenyan diaspora to unveil the Kenya Diaspora Impact Platform. This digital initiative, involving the United Nations and Equity Group Holdings, aims to formalize strategic investments and connect Kenyans living abroad to national development opportunities and community projects.