Kisumu is the third largest city in Kenya, the largest and principal city of Western Kenya, and the most important inland port in the Lake Victoria circuit. Kisumu serves as the capital city of Kisumu County, Kenya. While Kisumu city proper has a population of about 750,000, the Metropolitan Area population is 1,334, 574 making not only the third largest urban center in the country, but also the third largest metro after the capital city Nairobi and the coastal port and city, Mombasa. Kisumu is the immediate former capital of Nyanza Province, the headquarters of Kisumu County and the proposed headquarters of the Lake Region Economic Bloc, which is a conglomeration of 15 counties in Western Kenya. Kisumu is an important link in the trade route between Lake Victoria and Mombasa because of its water and rail connections. It is also the chief terminus for the agricultural produce of Nyanza and Western provinces. It is the largest and most important city in the Western Kenya. Kisumu serves as a trading and transportation hub for the Great Lakes region in western Kenya. Kisumu International Airport has regular flights to Nairobi and other neighboring cities such as Mombasa, Mwanza, and Kigali. It is the second most important city after Kampala in the greater Lake Victoria basin and according to the United Nations it is now recognized as a key city and a ‘Millennium City’ – the first of its kind in the world and also in East Africa. Kisumu is famous for being the home town of Barack Hussein Obama Sr, the father to the 44th president of the United States, Barack H. Obama.