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Kenya’s President William Ruto and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres led the groundbreaking ceremony for a new 1,600-seat Assembly Hall at the United Nations complex in Gigiri, Nairobi, marking a major step in the expansion of the United Nations Office at Nairobi as a global centre for multilateral diplomacy.The ceremony formed part of the Secretary-General’s visit to Kenya, which included a meeting with the UN Country Team, a bilateral meeting with President Ruto, the groundbreaking ceremony, the unveiling of a plaque marking the completion of the first phase of the UNON conference facilities expansion and later engagements linked to the Africa Forward Summit.Once complete, the expansion will increase UNON’s capacity to host major international meetings and strengthen Nairobi’s position as the only United Nations Secretariat headquarters in the Global South. But the day’s message went beyond buildings. It placed Nairobi within a wider conversation on Africa’s role in multilateral decision-making, development financing and reform of global governance.