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President William Ruto arriving in Évian-les-Bains, France for the G7 Summit. [PCS]
Kenya is set to benefit from G7-backed reforms in global finance, including guarantees, risk-sharing instruments, and improved debt restructuring frameworks, following three days of high-level talks at the G7 Summit in Evian, France, President William Ruto has said.
Through a press statement issued after the summit held from June 15 to 17, 2026, Ruto said Kenya’s participation had helped advance key reforms aimed at lowering the cost of capital for developing countries and unlocking private investment flows into infrastructure, health, and financial systems.
At the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, President Ruto represented Kenya at the summit not as an observer, but as an agenda-shaping partner, aligning African priorities previously articulated at the Africa Forward Summit held in Nairobi in May 2026.
The President took part in three G7+ working sessions, including a key discussion on “Fostering New Partnerships and Rebuilding International Solidarity,” where he positioned Africa as a partner in global growth rather than a recipient of aid.
He told leaders that Africa is entering a new phase of engagement defined by sovereign equality, mutual benefit, and investment-led development, adding that outdated perceptions of the continent were distorting global financial decision-making, particularly in risk assessments that drive borrowing costs.
Ruto also raised concerns over what he termed “capital injustice,” noting that African countries often face higher borrowing costs than comparable economies due to risk models that no longer reflect current realities.
He urged G7 nations to work with Africa in building a stronger financial architecture through guarantees and risk-sharing instruments, including platforms such as the African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI).
“A guarantee, though not money, is confidence,” he told the summit, calling for greater collaboration in mobilising African pension funds, insurance pools and reserves, estimated at over $4 trillion, towards long-term development investments.
In the session on balanced global growth, Ruto said Africa would be central to the future of the world economy, noting that the continent hosts six of the world’s fastest-growing economies and is projected to account for nearly 40 percent of the global workforce by 2050.
He urged international partners to support value addition within Africa, including mineral processing, industrial manufacturing, and job creation on the continent, warning that global growth strategies that ignore Africa would be incomplete.
“Pay attention to Africa. The future of global growth will be shaped there,” he said.
On artificial intelligence, Ruto highlighted Africa’s rapidly growing digital population and called for stronger protections for children online, including age-appropriate design, improved content moderation and safeguards against exploitation, with systems adapted to African languages and contexts such as Kiswahili and Sheng.
Kenya’s engagement at the summit was reflected in eight outcome documents covering global finance, infrastructure, health, artificial intelligence and critical minerals.
Among the key commitments were endorsement of blended finance and guarantees through institutions such as ATIDI and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), progress on debt restructuring frameworks under the G20 Common Framework, and enhanced transparency in debt reporting.
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The summit also supported expanded investment in infrastructure through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) and the EU’s Global Gateway, alongside commitments on local value addition in critical minerals to shift Africa from raw extraction to industrial production.
On health, leaders pledged deeper cooperation on cancer research and mobilised more than $870 million in response to the Ebola outbreak in parts of Africa.
Ruto said the outcomes marked significant progress for Kenya and the continent in reshaping global financial systems, reducing investment risk perceptions, and strengthening Africa’s role in global governance reforms, including institutions such as the UN Security Council, IMF and World Bank.
He said Kenya’s participation reaffirmed its position as a leading African voice bridging continental priorities with global action.
“The partnership Africa seeks is one measured not by aid, but by what we build, invest in and achieve together,” he said.
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