{"id":106931,"date":"2026-06-13T01:18:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T01:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/106931\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T01:18:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T01:18:24","slug":"how-ruto-packed-oslo-with-marathon-meetings-in-push-for-investment-jobs-and-un-reforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/106931\/","title":{"rendered":"How Ruto packed Oslo with marathon meetings in push for investment, jobs and UN reforms"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\u200ePresident William Ruto turned a single day in Norway into a diplomatic sprint, cramming more than a dozen high-level engagements into Oslo as he pushed Kenya\u2019s case for trade, jobs, clean energy and a stronger African voice in global affairs.<\/p>\n

\u200e<\/p>\n

\u200eFrom the moment he landed, Ruto\u2019s schedule ran non-stop.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u200eHe opened with talks on Kenya\u2019s maritime agenda with the Norwegian Shipowners\u2019 Association.<\/p>\n

\u200e<\/p>\n

\u200eThe meeting yielded an immediate win, with Wilhelmsen Ship Management and other Norwegian firms committing to hiring 120 Kenyan seafarers by the end of the year, with a target of 1,000 by 2030.<\/p>\n

\u200e<\/p>\n

\u200eBeyond jobs, Ruto explored new shipping routes linking Mombasa and Lamu to Norwegian ports, cooperation on green shipping and decarbonisation, and technology transfer to expand Kenya\u2019s shipbuilding capacity.<\/p>\n

\u200e<\/p>\n

\u200eThe President then moved to meet Norway Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg to discuss lessons that the Kenya\u2019s National Infrastructure Fund could draw from Norway\u2019s $2.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund.<\/p>\n

\u200e<\/p>\n

\u200eThe talks focused on channelling long-term investment into ports, airports, roads, energy and agriculture as Kenya pursues 10,000 megawatts of power to fuel industrialisation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u200eLater, he met Norfund CEO Tellef Thorleifsson to deepen cooperation in renewable energy, affordable housing and strategic investments tied to green growth.<\/p>\n

\u200e<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u200eIn the President\u2019s series of meetings, Parliamentary diplomacy featured in the agenda.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u200eRuto held discussions with the President of the Norwegian Parliament, Masud Gharahkhani, on deepening bilateral ties, promoting democratic governance and advancing peace in South Sudan.<\/p>\n

\u200e<\/p>\n

\u200eThe President also met leaders from Yara International and Mester Gr\u00f8nn to strengthen market access for Kenyan flowers and advance climate-smart agriculture under the Kenya-EU Economic Partnership Agreement.<\/p>\n

\u200e<\/p>\n

\u200eAt the Norway-Kenya Business Forum, Ruto made a direct pitch to Norwegian investors, pointing to Kenya\u2019s young workforce, strategic location and clean energy mix.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u200eThough bilateral trade stands at $54 million, he set an ambitious target of $500 million by 2030, urging Norwegian firms to take advantage of Kenya\u2019s position as a gateway to Africa\u2019s 1.4 billion consumers.<\/p>\n

\u200e<\/p>\n

\u200eCapping the marathon, Ruto addressed the Oslo Forum 2026 High-Level Public Event, where he called for urgent reform of the UN Security Council to give Africa permanent representation.<\/p>\n

\u200e<\/p>\n

\u200e \u201cThere can be no greater paradox than a global peace architecture that excludes the very regions where peace-building is most urgently needed,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

The day closed with a working dinner hosted by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr St\u00f8re, during which Kenya and Norway signed agreements on peace mediation and carbon market collaboration.<\/p>\n

\u200e<\/p>\n

\u200eAccompanied by First Lady Rachel Ruto, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui, Ruto said the intensity of the visit reflected a shift in how the world views Africa.<\/p>\n

\u200e<\/p>\n

\u200e\u201cFor far too long, Africa has been viewed primarily as a challenge to be managed rather than an opportunity to be harnessed. That narrative is changing,\u201d he told the business forum.<\/p>\n

\u200e<\/p>\n

\u200eFrom maritime jobs to climate finance, parliamentary ties to UN reform, Ruto\u2019s Oslo engagements laid bare Kenya\u2019s strategy of leveraging diplomacy to convert global climate and development partnerships into investment and employment at home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u200ePresident William Ruto turned a single day in Norway into a diplomatic sprint, cramming more than a dozen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[85],"tags":[5032,1157,158,39634,157,156,22799,39636,39638,39632,39635,23240,39639,39633,39637],"class_list":["post-106931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oslo","tag-development","tag-diplomacy","tag-finland","tag-kenya-news","tag-norway","tag-oslo","tag-star","tag-star-news","tag-star-news-kenya","tag-star-newspaper","tag-star-newspaper-kenya","tag-state-visit","tag-the-star","tag-the-star-kenya","tag-the-star-newspaper"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/116740168352520832","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}