Editor's Review

Ruto met with senior officials from the World Bank led by the regional Vice-President Victoria Kwakwa.

President William Ruto on Wednesday, September 18 met with senior officials from the World Bank led by the regional Vice-President Victoria Kwakwa.

In a statement, the Head of State detailed that the meeting was mostly centred on the financial programmes that the financial institution was undertaking in Kenya.

Ruto indicated that he discussed opportunities for accessing concessional financing from the institution. Notably, concessional loans have lower market interest rates and favourable terms.

Additionally, the President and his team also engaged the World Bank on the debt sustainability of the country. Kenya's outstanding debt currently stands above Ksh10 trillion.

File image of President William Ruto and World Bank Regional Vice-President Victoria Kwakwa at State House.

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On the other hand, Ruto termed the global financial institution as an ally of Kenya, noting that the government had partnered with the World Bank to undertake various projects in the country.

"The World Bank is a trusted ally in Kenya's development agenda. Through our partnership, we are discussing access to concessional financing, debt sustainability and scaling up of government social interventions, among other programmes," read the statement in part.

"Met World Bank Regional Vice-President Victoria Kwakwa, State House Nairobi. She was accompanied by new and outgoing Country Director Qimiao Fan and Mr Keith Hansen respectively, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi and Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo."

The World Bank is one of Kenya's biggest multilateral lenders alongside the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In November 2023, the international lender indicated that it would support various programmes in Kenya to the tune of Ksh1.5 trillion (12 Billion USD) over the next three years. However, it was noted that the financing would have to be approved.