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President Ruto welcomes Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed for pivotal state visit

President William Ruto welcomes Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. (X/William Ruto)

By Mwangi Maina | Tuesday, February 27, 2024

His visit holds particular significance as it not only strengthens the diplomatic ties between Kenya and Ethiopia but also underscores the continuity and evolution of their relationship under the leadership of President Ruto.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in the country on Tuesday, marking his first State visit to Kenya since President William Ruto assumed office.

The Ethiopian leader was welcomed by President Ruto at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), setting the tone for what is anticipated to be a significant diplomatic engagement between the two East African nations.

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His visit holds particular significance as it not only strengthens the diplomatic ties between Kenya and Ethiopia but also underscores the continuity and evolution of their relationship under the leadership of President Ruto.

Following his arrival, the two leaders proceeded to Sameer Business Park along Mombasa Road where they officially inaugurated Sama – a California-based training-data company that expanded its Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) operations in Kenya last year.

Sama specializes in annotating data for artificial intelligence algorithms, providing computer vision solutions crucial for powering AI and machine learning models.

In the company of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia @AbiyAhmedAli and his spouse Zinash Tayachew, officially opened the Samasource Kenya EPZ Limited, Nairobi Delivery Centre.

Prime Minister Abiy is on a State Visit to Kenya. pic.twitter.com/fDEY1XsYOT
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) February 27, 2024

"Our intentional investment in ICT infrastructure will ensure that we turn Kenya into a skills-based economy," President Ruto said in an X post.

In Kenya, the company offers BPO services, including data validation, data curation, image and video annotation, content moderation, and customer service support.

On Wednesday, the Ethiopian Prime Minister will be formally welcomed at State House, Nairobi, where he will be accorded all the honors befitting a visiting leader on a state visit.

This includes receiving a 21-gun salute and inspecting a guard of honor.

Additionally, both nations are anticipated to sign bilateral agreements during the visit.