Oct 18- 2022
On 13th September 2022, H.E. Dr. William Samoei Ruto was sworn into office as the fifth President of the Republic of Kenya, at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani. A High-Level delegation from the Republic of Ghana led by H.E. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President, participated in the inauguration ceremony. The Vice President was accompanied to the event by his spouse and Second Lady, H.E. Samira Bawumia, Deputy Foreign Minister, Hon. Thomas Mbomba, the High Commissioner of the Republic of Ghana to Kenya, H.E. Mr. Damptey B. Asare, and other senior government officials. The colourful ceremony was also attended by over 20 African Heads of State, and several dignitaries across the globe.
It may be noted that H.E. Dr. Bawumia and H.E. Samira Bawumia were part of the foremost dignitaries to call on H.E. Dr. Ruto and H.E. Mrs. Ruto respectively at the State House on 14th September 2022. The meetings afforded them the opportunity to formally congratulate the Kenyan President and First Lady on their respective first day at work as well as discuss how to deepen the bilateral cooperation between Ghana and Kenya.
Prior to the inauguration ceremony and within the context of strengthening the bilateral relations between Ghana and Kenya, the High Commissioner of the Republic of Ghana to Kenya, H.E. Damptey Asare called on H.E. Dr. Ruto on 7th September 2022 to present a goodwill message from the President of Ghana, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Interview with the Financial Standard
H.E. Dr. Bawumia granted interview to the Financial Standard, one of Kenya’s media houses, on a range of issues including lessons Kenya could borrow from Ghana’s digital revolution that the Vice President had been spearheading in Ghana. He stated that Kenya’s peaceful transition of power was indeed a success story for not only the country but for Africa as a whole. H.E. Dr. Bawumia recalled the cordial relations that exist between Ghana and Kenya dating back to the days of the first President’s Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Jomo Kenyatta who together engaged in the independence struggle against colonialism for their respective countries.
H.E. Dr. Bawumia noted that there was a sizeable Kenyan community in Ghana and added that due to regular flights of Kenya Airways to Ghana, the commercial ties between the two countries had improved.
Furthermore, the Vice President indicated that Ghana had focused on pursuing digitization as an economic strategy since the world was experiencing a digital revolution. He outlined some of the steps the Government of Ghana had undertaken to ensure that Ghana was not left behind in the global digitization. These includes the issuance of National Identification Cards, mobile money interoperability between mobile wallet and bank account and digitization of medical services.
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