President William Ruto jetted out of the country on Monday night for a three-day state visit to France and Senegal.

State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed says Ruto will hold talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris that will focus on key development projects.

According to Hussein, the bilateral talks between the Kenyan and French Heads of State will also touch on issues to do with peace and security in the East African regional.

The two nations enjoy a long working relationship that was enhanced during administration of immediate former President Uhuru Kenyatta resulting in signing of various bilateral pacts.

Among the issues expected to be discussed during Ruto’s trip to Paris is the USD150 million Rironi-Mau Summit road construction that was awarded to French infrastructure firm Vinci.

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The project was suspended by the Head of State weeks back due to procurement concerns after the African Development Bank approved the loan for construction of the 175km road.

In his October 2020 Paris visit, Uhuru and Macron also reached agreements to develop the Nairobi CBD to JKIA commuter rail and the 400kV Menengai-Rongai power transmission line.

On concluding his France trip, Ruto is expected to travel to Senegal, where he is set to give a keynote speech at the Dakar 2 Summit on ‘Feed Africa: Food, Sovereignty and Resilience.’

The summit organised by the Africa Development Bank comes as the continent is grappling with serious food security challenges made worse globally by the Russia-Ukraine way.