Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has seen off  Finland President Alexander Stubb and his spouse, Suzanne Ines-Stubb, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport(JKIA) in Nairobi.

This is following their successful State Visit to the country  in which Kenya and Finland signed two agreements on May 12, 2025.

The two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU)  focusses on political consultations, and peace mediation and conflict resolution aimed at strengthening ties between Kenya and Finland.

In a statement, President William Ruto said Kenya is committed to deepening bilateral cooperation with the Nordic country for the mutual benefit of citizens of the two nations.

He said Kenyan and Finnish officials are working on cooperation frameworks in education, tourism, and labour recruitment, initiatives that will enhance knowledge exchange, skills development, institutional partnerships, and stronger people-to-people connections.

“We look forward to strengthening existing collaboration and exploring new opportunities to elevate our cooperation to a strategic level,” he said.

Other discussions

Further, Ruto stated that the discussions between the two leaders centred on enhancing collaboration in education, health, renewable energy, trade and investment, peace and security, multilateral engagement, and climate action.

President Ruto said Kenya is keen on leveraging Finland’s global leadership in education and expressed Kenya’s intention to deepen cooperation in support of the Competency-Based Education.

“A cooperation framework will soon be concluded, focusing on basic, technical, vocational, and higher education to equip our youth with the skills needed in a digital economy,” he said.

On health, the President pointed out that Kenya intends to draw lessons from Finland’s exemplary universal healthcare system in strengthening Taifa Care, the country’s universal health coverage programme.

“We agreed to share experiences and explore joint efforts to address health challenges and improve service delivery,” he said.

The President further applauded Finland for maintaining a forest cover of over 75% of its landmass, noting that the two countries would collaborate closely with Finland as it works towards achieving 30% forest cover by planting 15 billion trees in the next eight years.

“We equally look forward to learning from Finland’s expertise in sustainable forest management, reforestation technology, biodiversity conservation, and balancing economic and environmental goals,” he said.

On the multilateral front, President Ruto reaffirmed both nations’ commitment to a rules-based international order and fair financing.

The head of state recognised the alignment between Finland’s climate diplomacy and Kenya’s ambition to achieve 100% clean energy by 2030.