FACT CHECK: How President Ruto Communication Team Goofed Over Reports on Nonexistent 5th Arab-African Summit

On Saturday President Dr William Samoei Ruto’s Communication team posted an excerpt purporting the president had attended a function called the fifth Arab-Africa Summit.

On cross-checking dalanews.co.ke has confirmed no such event took place as the official 5th Arab-African Summit has been postponed due to the situation in Gaza.

The presidential press team released photos of Dr. Ruto meeting Saudi officials and dignitaries on a different event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Claims that President Ruto urged Arab nations to explore opportunities in the African Continental Free Trade Area with Kenyans as their gateway, are therefore speculatory.

We went a step further in our investigations to confirm that the event President Ruto attended was the first ever Saudi-Africa Economic Summit. This event has never existed and was hurriedly put up to placate the African leaders who had intended to attend the 5th Arab-African Summit that was cancelled due to Israeli-Hamas hostilities.

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Saudi Arabia and African countries were set to sign deals worth some 500 million euros at an economic summit in Riyadh – the first of its kind. The three-day event, which began Friday, hopes to boost political and investment ties, while also addressing regional security threats.

The Gulf nation has high hopes for the the Saudi-Arab-African Economic Conference, which it has heavily invested in.

Summit guests included leaders without Western support, such as Gabon’s transitional leader, General Brice Oligui Nguema, who deposed longtime president Omar Bongo in a coup in August.

RFI’s correspondent in Gabon, Yves-Laurent Goma, said Nguema intended to speak about forest protection, but would also lobby for an end to global sanctions against his country.

‘Common history’

In his opening remarks, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said Saudi Arabia and the African continent shared a “common history and destiny”, adding the partnership between the two sides was ever-growing.

Meanwhile Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih said the kingdom’s 600 billion euro wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, would make some “game changing” investments in Africa.

Preliminary energy agreements were signed with countries including Nigeria, Senegal, Chad and Ethiopia, while Riyadh said it would help Ghana and other countries with their debt.

Mozambique said it had signed a financing agreement of $158 million with the Saudi Development Fund for infrastructure projects including the construction of hospitals and a dam.

Saudi Arabia has been forging diplomatic ties with the African continent since the 1970s. They were strengthened in 2018 with the appointment of a secretary of state dedicated to African Affairs.

It is a current negotiator in the war that has been tearing Sudan apart for seven months, and is a financial contributor in the fight against terrorism for the G5 Sahel.