President William Ruto at JKIA leaving for Washington DC. Photo Courtesy 
By Andrew Mbuva
President William Ruto has departed Nairobi for Washington, D.C., for a high-stakes diplomatic mission that is expected to deliver one of the most consequential peace agreements in Central Africa in decades and deepen Kenya’s strategic partnership with the United States.
The President is visiting the U.S. at the invitation of President Donald J. Trump and will join Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi for the formal signing of the DRC–Rwanda Peace Agreement. The deal, hailed as a landmark breakthrough, seeks to end years of conflict in Eastern DRC and unlock long-term stability for the region.
The Washington signing builds on the Nairobi and Luanda Peace Processes, as well as the broader EAC–SADC regional initiative. It brings together key African and international actors committed to opening pathways for disarmament, demobilisation, enhanced humanitarian access, and sustainable stabilisation across conflict-torn territories.
Beyond the peace agenda, President Ruto’s U.S. visit is packed with engagements geared toward bolstering Kenya’s strategic national interests. The Head of State is expected to participate in high-level discussions on trade and investment, health cooperation, and security partnerships.
A major highlight of the trip will be the signing of the Kenya–U.S. Health Cooperation Framework. The agreement transitions the 25-year-old partnership into a government-led, sustainable model aimed at advancing Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and building a self-reliant national health system by 2030.
State House said President Ruto will also pitch Kenya’s new economic transformation blueprint, anchored on human capital development, agro-industrial expansion, large-scale irrigation through dam construction, infrastructure modernisation, and enhanced energy security.
The President will be seeking significant Public–Private Partnership investments across these priority sectors to accelerate Kenya’s journey toward a modern, globally competitive economy.
According to State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed, the President’s visit underscores Kenya’s unwavering commitment to regional peace, global cooperation, and economic renewal.
