President William Ruto will be a no-show at the 2nd Russia-Africa summit set to take place in St Petersburg on Thursday.
In a statement on Wednesday, State House spokesperson Hussein Mohammed said Ruto will be represented by “organs of the Africa Union”.
According to Mohammed, the decision to forego the summit of the continent’s heads of state is in accordance with the understanding reached.
“The decision aligns with the stance of African Heads of State and Government, who believe that in order for Africa to engage in meaningful discussions with global partners, partnership summits organized by external parties need to be reviewed to establish an effective framework for African Union partnerships,” he said.
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On Tuesday, Russia announced that 49 of the 54 African nations had confirmed attendance.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will preside over the summit.
