Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta used his opening speech at a virtual leaders summit of the Organization of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) to plead for more debt relief, particularly for the world’s poorest countries. “The debt of many member states continues to rise. 44% of low income and least developed countries are in debt distress or assessed as being at high risk of external debt distress,” said the president.

President Kenyatta was joined at Wednesday’s OACPS by a number of other prominent African leaders including Rwanda’s Paul Kagame and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa who both issued similar appeals to the international community.