After days of going AWOL, President Uhuru Kenya will starting Wednesday be in Rwanda for a one-day official visit.
Presidential Strategic Communication Unit said the President is scheduled to attend and address the 2019 Transform Africa Summit of the Smart Africa Initiative.
According to the event’s website, the Summit is expected to attract over 4,000 participants, including Heads of State and Government, First Ladies, UN Broadband Commissioners, Ministers, Regulators, Mayors and Governors, Public and Private Sector, International Organizations, Industry Leaders, Investors, Entrepreneurs, Young Innovators, Civil Society and Academia.
The summit will is under the theme, “Boosting Africa’s Digital Economy”.
In addition to the Smart Africa Leaders Summit, the Smart Africa Women’s Summit and interactive plenaries, the summit will feature subject specific streams tackling current ICT topics.
The President was in Rwanda on March 11, a period in which he held private talks with Presidents Paul Kagame and Yoweri Museveni on the backdrop of a diplomatic row between Rwanda and Uganda, over claims that Uganda had supported rebels opposed to the government in Kigali, a claim firmly rebutted by Kampala.
CONFERENCE TOURISM
The summit is a boost to Kigali’s conference tourism, which is expected to fetch $74 million by June, according to Rwanda Convention Bureau.
By February, in the 2018-19 financial year, the industry had generated $52 million in accommodation revenue from 35,000 international delegates.
“2019 looks brighter with a calendar that has a number of events listed with numerous notable international conferences, among them the Africa Fine Coffee and Exhibition starting tomorrow [Wednesday] and expected to bring in 1,500 international delegates and the Africa CEO forum scheduled for March 25 to 26 bringing together top CEOs from across Africa,” Nelly Mukazayire, the Chief Executive Officer of RCB, said in February.
