Raila in Germany for key summit
Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga has arrived in Germany to attend a key summit on democracy.
In a statement on Sunday, ODM said Raila is among high-ranking dignitaries from across the globe attending The World Forum on Future of Democracy at the Allianz Forum in Berlin.
The opposition leader will deliver the keynote address at the forum attended by former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"Exciting day at The World Forum on the Future of Democracy, Tech, and Humankind in Berlin, with global leaders in politics, civil society, and culture poised to explore groundbreaking ideas and practices for a better world. Discussions on pressing socio-political issues underway," Raila wrote on X.
The forum comes at a time when the former prime minister is lobbying to be elected the chair of the African Union Commission.
The former prime minister declared his candidacy for the AU job last Thursday.
Raila stated that he had made up his mind on running for the AU seat after consulting widely among friends, including former Nigeria President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“The general Olusegun Obasanjo has said he is one of my closest friends in the continent and has intimated that should there be an interest I will be keen to serve the continent of Africa," Raila stated during a press conference in Nairobi.
Raila said that he was the best fit for the job, having served as the African Union (AU) special envoy for infrastructure development in Africa from 2018 to 2023, a position which helped him understand the socio-economic conditions across the continent.
"That position gave me a good advantage to be able to learn about each and every African country and I believe that working with all these countries we can be able to emancipate Africa," he said.
Obasanjo, on his part, expressed his confidence that Raila is the right man for the position of AU chairman and asked countries in the East African Community (EAC) to back his candidature.
“I have no doubt that my friend (Raila) is a viable candidate but subject to views, feelings, positions and presentations of our leaders in the East Africa sub-region,” Obasanjo told the media.
The former Head of State further expressed his belief that it is East Africa's opportunity to occupy the high office.
“Not too long ago we had Southern Africa, one occupying the seat now is Central Africa. Before that, we had West Africa,” he noted.
