National Capital Region President Joe Biden welcomed Kenyan President William Ruto to the White House for a three-day official visit as Kenya gets ready to send troops to Haiti to assist with the growing security issue in the Caribbean country. The United States has not had an African state visit since 2008.
Joining a U.N.-led multinational security effort in Haiti to reduce gang violence are about 1,000 Kenyan police personnel. Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, the Bahamas, Barbados, and other nations are anticipated to provide further assistance.
United States and Kenya Partnership
Kenya and the United States have long been collaborators, especially in counterterrorism initiatives against African terrorist organizations like al-Shabab. Kenya has also joined an international maritime task group that the Biden administration formed in reaction to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
A top official of the Biden administration has hailed Kenya’s pledge to dispatch police officers to Haiti as a “unprecedented undertaking” and evidence of Kenya’s leadership in the world.
Deep and wide is the collaboration, according to White House chief deputy national security adviser Jon Finer. It goes beyond battling terrorism in Africa, he stressed, to include being a “net security provider in our own hemisphere” with the deployment to Haiti.
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About the Visit
Beginning his official visit, President Ruto met with CEOs at the White House to talk about enhancing cooperation between the US and Kenyan IT industries. Attending were scheduled to be representatives from Teneo, Alphabet, and Semiconductor Technologies Limited.
First Lady Jill Biden greeted President Ruto and his wife, Rachel Ruto, at Joint Base Andrews. Thursday is set aside for formal discussions and a joint news conference between Presidents Biden and Ruto, followed by a state banquet. Ruto will attend a function at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Friday together with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Beginning his trip to the United States in Atlanta, Ruto went to The King Center, met NBA great Shaquille O’Neal, and saw Tyler Perry Studios.
Concurrent with the visit is the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Kenya and the United States. Important agenda items are security, health, environment and clean energy, trade and investment, and technology innovation.
Known as the “Silicon Savannah,” Kenya’s technical industry is home to Google and Microsoft headquarters, and Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell declared that major efforts would be made to advance it.
African Engagement of the United States
Nearly fifty African leaders were invited to Washington by President Biden in December 2022, and billions of dollars in government and private investment were pledged for health, infrastructure, business, and technology throughout Africa. Biden had promised to travel to sub-Saharan Africa in 2023, but other priorities—such as the Israel-Hamas conflict and the financing disputes over Ukraine—got in the way.
While American investment in Africa has lagged behind that of China, Biden has worked to reestablish Washington as a trustworthy long-term partner. As seen by the December 2022 U.S.-Africa leaders summit, his administration has given Africa greater attention than its recent predecessors. But since the summit, participation has declined, with just President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço of Angola making a White House visit since then.
Senior scholar Cameron Hudson of the Africa Program of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies pointed out that there hasn’t been much interaction with African leaders since the summit.
