President William Ruto has announced that Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire will deepen diplomatic ties following talks with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara at State House, Nairobi.

 In a statement after the meeting on Sunday, May 10, Ruto said the two governments had agreed to establish an embassy in Nairobi.

“Our decision to open an embassy and send the first-ever Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire reflects our shared commitment to deepening bilateral relations and expanding Kenya’s diplomatic presence in West Africa,” he said.

Ruto also welcomed Ouattara’s commitment to strengthen Côte d’Ivoire’s representation in Kenya by sending an ambassador to Nairobi.

“I appreciated President Outarra’s pledge to send an ambassador to Nairobi. Our focus is to unlock greater opportunities in trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges for the mutual benefit of our citizens,” he added.

The two leaders also discussed cooperation at the multilateral level, with Kenya seeking support for international judicial candidate, Supreme Court Judge Njoki Ndung’u.

“At the multilateral level, we agreed to advance our cooperation. I sought President Ouattara’s support for Supreme Court Judge Njoki Ndung’u in her candidature for the position of Judge of the International Criminal Court,” he concluded.