Ruto set to jet out, confirmed for high-level New York event alongside IMF boss

President William Ruto is set to travel to New York next week for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), with his participation in a high-level technology and development forum now officially confirmed.

Ruto has been listed among the featured speakers at Semafor's The Next 3 Billion 2026, scheduled for September 22 in New York City, alongside International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya and International Finance Corporation (IFC) Managing Director Makhtar Diop.

The confirmation provides an official indication of Ruto's participation in the New York event as he prepares for UNGA's high-level week.

Semafor on Wednesday, September 16, said the forum will examine whether technologies transforming economies and creating new markets will “expand opportunity or concentrate it”, with discussions focusing on technology-led growth, artificial intelligence and development across fast-growing regions.

According to the event programme, Ruto will be joined by a high-profile group of political, financial, business and international development leaders.

The speakers include Georgieva of the IMF, Kaseya of Africa CDC, Nigeria's Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Jumoke Oduwole, and Ben Black, Chief Executive Officer of the US International Development Finance Corporation.

Amazon Chief Sustainability Officer Kara Hurst, United Nations Global Compact Executive Director and CEO Sanda Ojiambo, Inter-American Development Bank President Ilan Goldfajn and International Rescue Committee President and CEO David Miliband are also listed.

Other featured speakers include Diop of the IFC, Standard Bank Group Chief Executive Sim Tshabalala and James Manyika, Google's Senior Vice President for Research, Labs, Technology and Society.

The event will be co-moderated by senior Semafor editors and journalists, including co-founder and CEO Justin B. Smith, co-founder and Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith, Semafor Africa Editor Yinka Adegoke and Semafor Africa Managing Editor Alexis Akwagyiram.

Semafor says The Next 3 Billion will focus on the estimated three billion people who remain offline and disconnected from the digital economy.

The organisers describe the event as an examination of how the next wave of technology-led growth will affect economic opportunity and global influence.

It will particularly explore the intersection between the global expansion of AI and the development agenda, while bringing together leaders working on technology, finance, sustainability, development and international cooperation.

Ruto's inclusion places Kenya's President among speakers discussing the relationship between technological change, economic growth and development in emerging regions.

The Semafor appearance comes as Ruto prepares for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, whose high-level week is taking place in New York.

According to the UN, the high-level week runs from September 18 to 28, with the General Debate scheduled from September 22 to 26 before resuming on September 28.

The 81st session is being presided over by Bangladesh's Khalilur Rahman under the theme “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All.”

The General Debate is the annual meeting at which heads of state and government outline their national priorities and positions on major international issues.

Also, the programme includes a series of high-level meetings addressing issues including the right to development, climate action and a just transition, sea-level rise and pandemic prevention and preparedness.

President Ruto's New York schedule is also expected to include an engagement with Kenyans living in the United States.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the State Department for Diaspora Affairs, has invited Kenyans in the US to a presidential engagement on September 20 at Convene, 30 Hudson Yards, beginning at 4pm.

The meeting is expected to provide an opportunity for discussion with Kenyans in the diaspora on matters affecting them, as well as Kenya's development priorities.