President Ruto to Flies out to the United States

President William Ruto has departed for Washington, DC, in the United States of America (USA), following an invitation by his US counterpart Donald Trump to witness the signing of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)-Rwanda Peace Agreement. According to a statement by State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed, the agreement comes on the heels of the Nairobi and Luanda Peace Processes as well as the joint EAC-SADC initiative that sought for long-term stability in the two nations. Ruto, the chairman of the EAC, has been calling for all parties in the conflict to embrace dialogue. While in the US, President Ruto will participate in engagement aimed at advancing Kenya's strategic interests in trade, investment, health cooperation and security. He will also witness the signing of the Kenya-US Health Cooperation Framework, that seeks to foster a 25-year partnership to advance the Universal Health Coverage. The head of state will also outline Kenya's agenda to transition to a first-world economy, highlighting the prospects of infrastructure expansion, human capital development and agricultural growth. Further, he will seek Public-Private Partnership (PPP) investments in several priority areas to support Kenya's long-term projects. The peace-signing agreement marks the most significant breakthrough in addressing decades of conflict in Eastern DRC. M23 group, a rebel movement that primarily led by ethnic Tutsis have fought the DRC government for decades, with the root cause emanating from the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The group reemerged in 2021 with the alleged support of Rwanda. The Rwandan government, however, denied working with M23, citing that it acts in self-defence against the DRC's military and the rebel group. Both M23 and the DRC government have been at loggerheads, prompting intervention from the United States with Trump repeatedly claiming how his efforts helped reach a ceasefire between Rwanda and DRC.