Ruto to Belgium: Stop Exporting Raw Materials, Invest in Kenya’s Industrial Future
News Updated: 08 June 2026 20:07 EAT
President William Samoei Ruto when he Met with President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and discussed strengthening Kenya-European Union relations for a mutual benefit.
President William Ruto has intensified Kenya’s investment diplomacy in Europe, using a high-level roundtable in Belgium to urge manufacturers to move beyond raw material sourcing and establish production facilities directly in Kenya and across Africa, anchored on clean energy and integrated supply chains.
The general conversation was centered on progress under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the EU-Kenya Digital Partnership, particularly on the Digital Dialogue and Data Adequacy process, which will strengthen digital trade, attract investment and enhance Kenya’s position as a leading digital hub. President Ruto opened with an established approach;
“So I say to Belgian manufacturers, do not buy Africa's raw materials to add value elsewhere. Come and build with us. Process Kenyan minerals in Kenya and Africa on clean power and help Europe secure the supply chains it needs. Make it in Kenya, make it in Africa, make it clean and sell in Europe and to the world. This is why on the back of this round table, I will shortly officiate the launch of the Kenya Benelux Chamber of Commerce, a permanent bridge between Kenyan enterprise and the markets, investors and innovators of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. I challenge everyone in this room and every firm that will join the chamber to two goals: double the number of Benelux companies operating in Kenya and help deliver that $1 billion in trade by 2030.”
During the engagement, Ruto formally positioned the proposed Kenya–Benelux Chamber of Commerce as a long-term institutional bridge aimed at expanding bilateral trade, attracting investment, and scaling Kenyan exports into European markets.
“Agribusiness and agro-processing, because Kenya grows around 40% of Europe's cut flowers, is the world's largest exporter of black tea and a leading avocado exporter. The next phase for the people sitting around this table is value addition. Avocado, macadamia, horticulture, processed foods. I propose a Nairobi-Antwerp green produce corridor, a seamless cold chain from Kenyan farms to European shelves. Second is ports, logistics and cold chain. The port of Mombasa handled record volumes in 2025. I invite the port of Antwerp and Belgium... to form a sister port partnership with Kenya Ports Authority on river handling and pre-cooling to cut post-harvest losses and raise competitiveness.”
The President highlighted agriculture as a central pillar of Kenya–EU trade expansion, calling for deeper agro-processing, improved logistics systems, and a direct cold-chain link between Kenyan producers and European markets.
“Third, technology and digital economy. With Belgium's world-leading semiconductor ecosystem and our young digitally native talent, we can build a... silicon bridge for cheap design skills. Odoo launched its newest global platform from Nairobi. Proof that world-class software is built in Kenya. We welcome partnerships in cloud, AI, and cybersecurity, clean energy, and the circular economy. More than 90% of Kenya's electricity is renewable with geothermal alone accounting for almost 40%. I propose an element carbon removal cluster scaling carbon removal on clean geothermal power. And we welcome Belgium leaders in recycling and urban mining to build a circular economy that creates jobs and creates opportunities.”
He also positioned Kenya as an emerging hub for digital innovation and green technology, citing strong renewable energy capacity and ongoing international tech investment in Nairobi.
“The strongest endorsement of Kenya is not what government says. It is what investors do. Bio, as you've heard, has invested in Kenya for over 25 years and counts Kenya among its largest exposures. Odoo again chose Nairobi as its African headquarters to serve East Africa from Kenyan plant. Sirona built its first commercial-scale direct air capture site at Lake Elementaita. Close the Gap has opened a circular IT hub in Nairobi. The direction of travel is very clear to all of us, which way. Yet trade between Kenya and Belgium remains modest. And when I say Belgium I mean European Union, about 335 million US dollars in 2024. That does not reflect our potential. So let us set a clear ambition to triple it towards $1 billion by 2030.”
The President pointed to existing European investments in Kenya as evidence of growing confidence in the country’s economic trajectory while stressing the need to scale trade volumes significantly.
“Africa is an opportunity and Kenya is the gateway. If you establish in Kenya, you do not just enter into one country. You enter into a continent through the African Continental Free Trade Area. You invest and you enter into a market of 1.4 billion people with a GDP of $3.4 trillion. If you add EAC and COMESA, the European Union and the United Kingdom and Kenya's combined preferential market access exceeds US dollar 70 trillion. Why do I say so? You set up in Kenya, you not only access the African market but because we have a signed economic partnership agreement with Europe, you equally access the European market.”
He emphasized Kenya’s strategic positioning as a gateway into continental and global markets through multiple trade frameworks.
“And in the meanwhile we have had your... the chairman of the Kenya Ports Authority uh at our port and also your namesake Captain William Ruto, yes, yes, who is the CEO of... of KPA. Um some things that... that... that resonate uh what... what you said is um that for... for us Africa is indeed trade and not aid. The... the volumes between Port of Antwerp and Bruges uh have been for decades more important between Africa than between the Far East. Uh so... so... so that is... that is definitely one thing. And then on the... on the mutual and sovereign equality in every partnership that we develop with African counterparts that is essential.”
Belgian and European stakeholders at the roundtable echoed Ruto’s investment message, highlighting growing interest in African industrial partnerships, logistics cooperation, and mutual economic development frameworks.
“I'm also very happy that you talked about the past of the extraction corporation. Uh the future is no longer if I may speak for my... on my own behalf is no longer in the west or in the east. The future is north-south. Europe has massive amount of technology. We have a lot of sense of cooperation. We know the word definitely in Belgium, we know the meaning of the word compromise and cooperation because they have been invented here. Um so we really believe in a cooperation where added value where jobs are created because that is the future of Africa in general.”
Investor and institutional participants reinforced the shift toward value-add industrial cooperation, signaling interest in long-term partnerships in manufacturing, agro-processing, healthcare, and infrastructure development in Kenya.
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FELIX MAKONA
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