Biden Meets Kenya’s President William Ruto to Discuss Global Partnership

WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden received Kenya’s President William Ruto at the White House in a formal ceremony on May 23, where the two leaders began their meeting by emphasizing the need to bolster security through their global partnership.

“Together, the United States and Kenya are working to deliver on the challenges that matter most with our people’s lives, health security, economic security, cyber security, and climate security,” President Biden said.

He praised Kenya for running 90 percent of its power on clean energy and for its continued commitment to standing united with the United States against adversaries such as Russia, in its invasion of Ukraine, ISIS, and al-Shabab, an Islamist militant group based in Somalia.

Kenya is also poised to be the 19th nation to receive the title of major non-NATO ally as it prepares to send 1,000 police officers to quell gang violence in Haiti.

Those forces will be bolstered by forces from The Bahamas, Barbados, Benin, Chad, and Bangladesh.

Mr. Ruto’s visit is the first formal state visit of an African leader since 2008 when then-President George W. Bush welcomed Ghana’s President Jon Kufour. It comes at a time when Russia and China continue to press their influences on the African continent.

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Kenya’s debt-to-GDP ratio tops 70 percent, according to the Associated Press, with much of it owed to China. Kenya recently sought to build a new railway connecting the port city of Mombassa to the Rift Valley via the capital city of Nairobi. It was to be a key project of China’s Belt and Road initiative, and the $4.7 billion project was paid mostly by loans.

The two leaders confirmed they will discuss tackling what Mr. Ruto called “debt distress.”

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that they will discuss “how we can have a fairer international financial system where all countries are treated equally.”

Trade is also expected to be a key topic of discussion.

President Ruto, in his speech, expressed hope that the United States would renew the African Growth and Opportunities Act and that he and President Biden would “conclude on our strategic trade and investment partnership that will give us the opportunity in Kenya to work with companies in the United States, and to build greater synergy around our continent on matters to do with trade investment.”

The meeting also proceeds the second installment of the U.S.-Africa Nuclear Energy Summit between the U.S. Department of Energy and Kenya and Ghana. Scheduled for August 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya, it will focus on industry readiness, addressing critical issues impacting the future of nuclear energy on the African continent, and underscore the ways nuclear power can be used to reach Net Zero by 2050.

In his speech, President Biden referred back to the day Kenya became an independent nation, recalled trips he took there as a U.S. senator and vice president, and highlighted the two nations’ 60-year relationship based on their shared democratic values.

He had promised to visit Sub-Saharan Africa last year but never followed through. A visit to Kenya in February has become the latest of his re-election promises.

“Kenya and the United States stand together, committed to each other, committed to our people, and committed to building a better world,” he said. “One of greater opportunity, dignity, security, and liberty for all Americans for all Kenyans.”

Samantha Flom and The Associated Press contributed to this report.