President Joe Biden intends to welcome Kenyan President William Ruto to the White House in May for a state visit after breaking his commitment to visit Africa last year.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced Friday that the visit, scheduled for May 23, will commemorate the 60th anniversary of US-Kenya diplomatic relations and “celebrate a partnership that is delivering for the people” of both countries while affirming “our strategic partnership” with Ruto’s country.
The agreement “will strengthen our shared commitment to advance peace and security, expand our economic ties, and stand together in defense of democratic values,” the statement stated. “The leaders will discuss ways to bolster our cooperation in areas including people-to-people ties, trade and investment, technological innovation, climate and clean energy, health, and security.”
Ruto’s visit follows Haiti’s announcement this week that it is working on an official agreement with Kenyan officials to ensure the long-awaited deployment of Kenyan police officers there. High-ranking officials from both countries recently convened in the United States for three days to negotiate a memorandum of understanding and set a timeframe for east African military to arrive in Haiti.
Beyond Kenya, Jean-Pierre said Rutto’s travel to Washington will “further the vision” that “African leadership is essential to addressing global priorities.”
The White House has also announced that Ruto and Kenyan First Lady Rachel Ruto will be honored at a banquet. In October, Biden organized a state banquet in honor of important partner Australia, following the president’s decision to forego a visit to that country earlier in 2023 to focus on debt limit negotiations in Washington. However, given Israel’s continuing war with Hamas, last fall’s festivities were somewhat toned down.
In December 2022, Biden said that he will travel to Sub-Saharan Africa the following year, making him the first US president to do there in a decade. At the conclusion of a U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington with 49 leaders, the president stated that the continent would be a strategic emphasis as the US made political and financial commitments.
However, by 2023, other goals had taken precedence. Biden made last-minute excursions to Israel and Vietnam, as well as a covert visit to Ukraine. Last year, he skipped a December U.N. climate change summit in Dubai, sending Vice President Kamala Harris in his stead, and made no plans to visit Africa.
Biden is currently running for reelection in November while dealing with a slew of critical foreign policy issues, including the Israel-Hamas conflict and ongoing debate in Congress over proposed foreign aid for Ukraine in the midst of its battle with Russia.
On Friday, he will drive to East Palestine, Ohio, to fulfill a promise he made months ago to visit the scene of a Norfolk Southern train wreck that spilled dangerous chemicals and caught fire in February 2023.
As Biden prepared for his trip, Vice President Kamala appeared Friday at the Munich Security Conference and was asked about Washington’s “growing transitional mindset” toward Africa, which she denied, saying that “the future has to be about partnership and investment.”
“I believe that we must think differently about the relationship between the United States and the continent of Africa,” the vice president stated, adding, “We look at the continent’s future and how it will effect the world: It is undeniable. There will be a direct influence.
Harris stated that the median age on the African continent is 19, and that population increase means that in the next decades, up to one-fourth of the world’s population will live there.
“In terms of the future, we must see the innovation that is currently happening there and partner with African leaders and nations,” she went on to say. “And shift our attitude so that it is about cooperation rather than aid. Not what we do for the continent, but what we do with it and its leaders.