President of Kenya to chair UN Security Council session on peace

NEW YORK, USA

President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta arrived in New York on Sunday for a two-day working visit of the United States.

President Uhuru Kenyatta

He is expected to chair a United Nations Security Council high-level open debate on diversity, state building and peace.

Having assumed her position as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, Kenya currently holds the monthly rotational presidency of the Council for October 2021.

Alongside his engagement at the UNSC, Uhuru is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guteress and witness the signing of a trade agreement between Kenya's private sector and a consortium of American companies during his two-day visit.

In the meeting with Guteress, the President and the UN boss are expected to discuss several subjects of mutual interest to Kenya and the UN among them the global response to Covid-19.

Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the UN Martin Kimani said Kenya's overriding agenda at the UN Security Council is to offer ideas and solutions to global peace and security in areas such as the Horn of Africa and the troubled Sahel region.

“We have ideas on how to do that, we have experience in building peace in our region and we bring those ideas and perspectives to the Council," Kimani said.

"Kenya is suggesting new innovations on how to approach particular conflict situations."

Kimani said Kenya is encouraging the UN Security Council to work closely with Africa.

“Kenya has been very specific on the steps it expects the United Nations to take particularly in regard to the Covid-19 pandemic vaccination, peace and security and how the world should get to COP26 in a month’s time.

How the world responds to climate change is key to Kenya’s future prosperity,” Kimani said.

On the business agreement, Kimani said Uhuru will witness the signing of a new initiative between the Kenya Private Sector Alliance and the Corporate Council on Africa, the largest umbrella body of US companies operating in Africa.

The business agreement seeks to enhance collaboration between Kenyan companies, especially the small and medium enterprises with their American counterparts in a deliberate Government effort to create more jobs and employment opportunities for Kenya's youth.

Further, President Kenyatta is scheduled to participate in the Global Leaders' high-level discussion organized by the International Peace Institute (IPI) as a platform for world leaders to discuss contemporary subjects.

The President will be joined in the discussion by former Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations Prince Zeid Raad Al Hussein to talk about the UN Secretary General's Common Agenda report.