President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday presided over the official opening of the 9th Africities Summit at Kisumu International Stadium in Mamboleo.
As part of the opening ceremony, the President participated in a High-Level Dialogue on Infrastructure and Urban Devpt in Africa.
The panel discussion was moderated by Kisumu Governor Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o and had H.E Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the AU Commission, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, and former President Danny Faure (Seychelles) as panelists.
While addressing the delegates, Kenyatta, called for the need to make African cities more sustainable, saying that the continent is becoming increasingly urban.
“This summit comes at a critical time when Africa is facing rapid urbanization. Intermediary cities in Africa are home to approximately 174 million people representing about 36 percent of the continent’s population and contribute about 40 percent of our continent’s GDP,” the Head of State averred.
The 5-day international conference has brought over 8,000 delegates from across the world to the lakeside city to deliberate on the ‘role of intermediary cities of Africa in the implementation of the United Nations Agenda 2030 and the African Union Agenda 2063’.
A total of over 200 exhibitors registered to showcase their exhibition at the summit.
The summit held every three years over a five-day period has brought together officials from the United Nations, African Union, United Cities and Local Govts of Africa (UCGL), members of the diplomatic core, and senior government officials including governors and cabinet secretaries.
The summit was last hosted in Kenya in 2006 under the local governments.
