Ruto calls for equal partnerships with wealthy nations, says era of aid is over

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President William Ruto has declared that Africa will no longer engage with wealthy countries on terms of dependency, calling instead for partnerships built on sovereign equality and mutual benefit.

Speaking in Mombasa on Thursday, June 18, at the close of the 11th Our Ocean Conference, Ruto said the era of aid, charity, and assistance had run its course.

“Going forward, the conversation and engagement by those of us from the global south and Africa will no longer be on dependency; rather, it is going to be on sovereign equality.”

He said the cause of aid, charity and assistance has run its course: “Going forward, it has to be partnership and partnerships that are mutually beneficial.”

Ruto said he conveyed Africa's position at the G7 summit that the continent would reject any engagement amounting to extraction. "We will reject any extractive engagement," he said, adding that future dealings must create jobs, generate value, and produce outcomes that benefit all parties.

The remarks come amid a domestic controversy over a planned US-funded Ebola quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base in Nanyuki, which a High Court temporarily suspended last month following a petition by civil society groups, including the Katiba Institute.

The Our Ocean Conference, hosted across Mombasa and Kilifi under the theme "Our Ocean, Our Heritage, Our Future," saw 14 governments sign an agreement to promote global fisheries transparency and step up efforts against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. 

It was the first time the summit was held on African soil.

"The world has one single honest option: to turn political promise into real action, to green our ports, drive blue-green industrialisation, create high-value and dignified jobs, and secure a living and resilient ocean," Ruto said.