Ruto and chinese official
President William Ruto has expressed Kenya’s willingness to join the Russia and Chinese-led BRICS organization.
In a meeting held on Tuesday, President Ruto directly requested support from Li Xi, a high-ranking official in China’s Communist Party to back Kenya in joining BRICS.
“President Ruto also requested China’s support for Kenya’s bid to join BRICS and for the election of Kenya’s candidate to the position of African Union Commission chairperson,” read a statement from State House.
President Ruto also pledged to uphold the ‘One-China’ policy and noted that Kenya is committed to promoting the partnership across Africa.
“Kenya, I want to assure you is committed to promoting this partnership across Africa and also upholding the ‘One-China’ Policy,” said President Ruto.
The push for BRICS membership marks Kenya’s attempt to align itself with countries that are challenging the dominance of Western political and economic influence.
Kenya’s BRICS aspirations come as the group, originally formed in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China and later expanded to include South Africa in 2010, now includes new members such as Egypt and Ethiopia.
Other member states include Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
BRICS members collectively account for approximately 28% of the global economy, offering significant potential for economic collaboration.
Since 2009, the group has met annually to set priorities for the year. Member States take turns hosting the summit, and the country hosting the summit also takes on a one-year chairmanship to host a summit and set priorities for the year.
The BRICS countries are seen as the main geopolitical rival to the G7 bloc comprising of advanced economies and are implementing competing initiatives such as the New Development Bank, the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, the BRICS Pay, the BRICS Joint Statistical Publication and the BRICS Basket Reserve Currency.
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