President William Ruto is among African presidents who have been urged to push for greater African representation in global decision-making while also ensuring international institutions deliver on their commitments.
Ahunna Eziakonwa, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General, made the appeal on Thursday, October 15, during a leadership meeting focused on rebuilding trust in international institutions.
According to Eziakonwa, global institutions could not regain public trust if African countries continued to have limited influence over decisions affecting their economies, development priorities and international relations.
“Africa is not asking for a seat at someone else’s table anymore. Africa is a co-architect of a system that is renewed, and not only repaired,” she said.
Ahunna Eziakonwa, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General, speaks during a leadership meeting on rebuilding trust in global institutions in Nairobi on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
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ALADI
Eziakonwa also called on African leaders to hold international partners accountable for development commitments while improving their own performance in areas such as education, agriculture and public services. She said trust depended on measurable results rather than declarations of intent.
“Trust is not rebuilt by grand declaration. It's rebuilt by commitment, one commitment after another, each with a named owner, a timeline, and a date on which we report back,” Eziakonwa said.
Her remarks come ahead of the Trust Summit: Nairobi Dialogues on Global Trust, scheduled for October 21 October 23, with political leaders, policymakers, business representatives, civil society groups and the youth set to discuss ways of restoring public confidence in institutions.
The summit is set to provide another platform for discussions on Africa’s position in global affairs, alongside questions about public accountability, international cooperation and confidence in institutions.
Organisers plan to develop a framework for action and mechanisms to track commitments made during the summit, with the aim of moving discussions beyond declarations towards measurable outcomes.
Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Abraham Korir Sing’Oei, said rebuilding trust required governments and major institutions to open decision-making to wider participation, including from civil society and other non-state actors.
“If we are serious about rebuilding trust, states must open the door to greater engagement with society, and large institutions must make room for non-state actors,” Sing’Oei said.
Incidentally, President Ruto has been at the forefront of calls for reforms to global institutions, particularly the United Nations Security Council, where Africa has no permanent seat despite having 54 countries.
In September 2025, Ruto told the United Nations General Assembly that Africa’s exclusion from permanent representation on the Security Council undermined the credibility of the global organisation, arguing that the council needed to reflect current geopolitical realities rather than the balance of power established as far back as in 1945.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei speaks during a leadership meeting on rebuilding trust in global institutions in Nairobi on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
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ALADI