Kenya, Kazakhstan Establish Direct Flights between Nairobi and Astana

President William Ruto has announced the establishment of new flight routes between Nairobi and Astana, set to facilitate commerce and promote greater people-to-people engagements between the two nations.

Ruto announced the strategic partnership on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, following the Kazakhstan-Kenya Business Forum at the Astana International Financial Centre.

“To advance this partnership, we shall pursue the establishment of direct flights between Nairobi and Astana to facilitate commerce and promote greater people-to-people engagements.”

At the same time, in a bid to maximise the full capacity of the partnership between both countries, Ruto has also invited Kazakhstan to make full use of the Mombasa and Lamu ports as key gateways for entry and trans-shipment into the East and Central African region.

“We further invite Kazakhstan to take full advantage of the strategic position and capacity of the ports of Mombasa and Lamu as key gateways for entry and trans-shipment into the East and Central African region,” Ruto said.

“Addressed the Kazakhstan-Kenya Business Forum at the Astana International Financial Centre alongside President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. We advocated stronger business and investment ties between our countries.”