Kenyan President William Ruto arrived in Italy this morning on an official visit, where he will not only participate in the economic forum between the two nations—organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Italian Trade Agency (ICE) and Kenyan institutions—but, above all, hold bilateral talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
As Ruto himself stated, the trip will focus on strengthening cooperation between Kenya and Italy, aligning development priorities, and opening new opportunities in trade, investment, and strategic partnerships.

To that end, several memorandums of understanding on security, defense, and trade will be signed in Rome, simultaneously paving the way to improve and finalize existing bilateral agreements and unlock investment opportunities.
In most cases, these are agreements that the two governments have been working on for some time, but which have seen a significant acceleration with the arrival in Kenya of the new ambassador, Vincenzo Del Monaco, last November, in line with the vision and spirit of the Mattei Plan for Africa. Del Monaco himself will be in Rome in the coming days, alongside Ruto and the Kenyan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Musalia Mudavadi.
Today they will meet with President Mattarella at the Italy-Kenya Business Forum at the Hotel Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria, which will also be attended by our Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, underscoring the importance of these relations.

The Italian Foreign Ministry itself confirmed in a statement that the event “holds strategic importance for Italy: Kenya is, in fact, a key country for the implementation of the Mattei Plan, and is a country with which Italy maintains excellent bilateral relations, a player committed to the protection of multilateralism and regional stability in a strategic area such as East Africa…
… Kenya represents one of the most attractive markets for Italy in sub-Saharan Africa, thanks to its geographical location and the presence of special economic zones within the country. In 2025, bilateral trade reached 280 million euros, an increase of +34.1% compared to 2024; among European countries, Italy ranks behind Germany, the United Kingdom, and France.
Economic relations between the two countries offer significant opportunities, particularly in the agro-industry and leather sectors, as well as in the strategic sectors of infrastructure and energy: the Forum, which has attracted more than 200 Italian entrepreneurs, represents an excellent opportunity to explore new forms of collaboration.”