President William Ruto Saturday called on Kenya’s diplomats to take a more assertive role in positioning Kenya as a premium global investment destination.
He urged the envoys to project the right image of Kenya to the world and secure partnerships that will deliver tangible benefits for the country.
Speaking during the 19th Ambassadors and High Commissioners Conference in Nairobi on Saturday, Ruto told the envoys to use their positions to support the actualisation of the country’s transformation agenda.
“You are called upon to articulate, position, and present to the world the full breadth of Kenya’s potential, to tell our story with conviction, and to translate that promise into partnerships that deliver tangible outcomes for our nation,” he said.
Present at the conference were Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei, Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu, and over 70 ambassadors and consul- generals.
In the past three years, the President explained, the government has made remarkable progress and has now embarked on a Sh5 trillion ($40 billion) national transformation plan to transform Kenya into a first-world economy.
He said the plan includes expanding infrastructure by building at least 2,500km of dual carriageways and 28,000km of tarmac roads, modernising rail, upgrading airports and seaports, and increasing energy capacity from the current 3,300MW to 10,000MW to power industries, light urban centres and homes.
Additionally, a water harvesting and storage plan includes building at least 50 mega dams and over 1,000 micro and small dams to secure national food security through irrigation of at least 2.5 million acres, especially in the arid and semi-arid parts of the country.
Already, the search for contractors for the first 15 mega dams to advance the water and irrigation agenda has begun.
He noted that achieving this ambitious plan will require a whole-of-government approach, both locally and internationally.
He called on the ambassadors to believe in the potential of the country and to serve it with unwavering dedication.
“As we work here at home to transform our country, you are the face, the voice, and the standard of Kenya beyond our borders. I call upon you to embody that responsibility with integrity, conviction, and a deep sense of purpose,” he said.
Ruto told the ambassadors to ignore pessimists hellbent on tainting the image of the country.
“If you read social media, you will think Kenya is going to collapse tomorrow,” he said.
He said the government is committed to fulfilling every promise it made to the people of Kenya, chapter by chapter and paragraph by paragraph.
He pointed out that the government is also demonstrating that a manifesto is not “a piece of paper, but a covenant with the people”.
“We are re-engineering our nation and our political discourse, ensuring that leaders deliver what they promise; when we make a commitment we must have the plan to execute and make it a reality,” he said.
On the economy, Ruto explained that Kenya has undertaken the necessary reforms by rationalising expenditure, streamlining the budget, and making tough decisions, including the removal of unsustainable consumption subsidies.
As a result, he noted, inflation has declined significantly and stands at 4.3 per cent in February 2026, down from 9.6 per cent three years ago, foreign direct investment inflows grew by 15 per cent in 2025, exceeding $2 billion for the first time.
On its part, the currency has been stable at KSh129 to the dollar for two years, while foreign exchange reserves have risen from $5.7 billion in 2022 to $14.6 billion, an increase of 156 per cent, with import cover rising from two and a half months to seven and a half months.
“In a couple of months, the foreign reserves will rise to $16 billion,” he pointed out.
He added: “The recent upgrade of Kenya’s sovereign rating by Standard & Poor’s, from B- to B, is another clear and credible affirmation of the confidence that global markets have in the direction we have taken,” he said.
He said the government has addressed challenges in the education sector, including hiring 100,000 teachers, expanding learning opportunities by building 23,000 classrooms, streamlining the Competency-Based Curriculum, and establishing a higher education student-centred model.
He explained that agricultural reforms, including subsidised fertiliser and the eradication of cartels, have enhanced productivity and increased farmers’ earnings.
In healthcare, Ruto said the transformation in the provision and delivery of services has enhanced access to public health insurance under the Social Health Authority, which has registered more than 30 million members.
On jobs, he said the government is implementing deliberate programmes to expand opportunities for young people, citing the Affordable Housing Programme that has employed over 640,000 youth.
“By next year, we will have a million young people working in our housing programme,” he said.
Additionally, he cited digital jobs at ICT hubs and Jitume Centres at the technical training colleges, Business Process Outsourcing centres in Nairobi and its environs.
“Today, about 300,000 young people are working in this space. We expect this field to expand and hire one million people as a result of many digital business service companies, including Teleperformance, shifting to Kenya,” President Ruto explained.
He also pointed out that the government has streamlined the overseas employment programme to create 540,000 jobs in the past three years.
Saying Kenya is becoming a major foreign direct investment destination, President Ruto noted that more than 300 multinational corporations have established their presence in the country.
“It is a clear vote of confidence in the direction we have taken as a country, affirming that Kenya is getting the fundamentals right,” he said.
The President urged Kenyans to believe in the country as others do, citing a recent invitation by France for Kenya to represent the voice of Africa at the G7.
He explained that Kenya will remain firmly committed to its leadership role at the regional, continental, and global levels, including supporting global peace and security such as deploying police officers to Haiti and stability in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.
As the Champion of the Reform of the African Union Institutions, the President said, Kenya will continue to actively advance the agenda of strengthening the AU’s capacity and strategic relevance.
At the continental level, Ruto said Kenya remains a strong supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Area, alongside other regional trade and infrastructure initiatives that enhance connectivity, expand markets, and promote shared prosperity across Africa.
On climate action, he said Kenya remains at the forefront of continental leadership.
“As Chair of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change, we are driving our continent’s collective voice and ambition in global climate negotiations,” he said.
Mudavadi said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is playing its part in advancing the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
He cited various bilateral economic partnerships that have expanded opportunities for the export of Kenyan products, especially to China, the European Union and the United Arab Emirates.
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