Washington has committed millions of dollars to various development efforts, including democracy, health, education, arts and culture, climate management, trade, and technology. During President Ruto’s visit, a significant focus was on addressing African nations’ debt to China, the world’s largest creditor.
Additionally, members of the Kenya Defence Forces are set to enroll in courses at the US Military Academy for the first time. Furthermore, Kenya is slated to receive 16 US-manufactured helicopters by late 2024 to enhance regional peace and security.
The two nations will also sign a Memorandum of Understanding to expand Manda Bay Airfield in coastal Kenya, facilitating increased operations against Al-Shabaab. Additionally, the State Department Bureau of Counterterrorism announced $18.7 million to bolster Kenya’s criminal justice system’s capacity to address terrorism threats.
This funding will support training, mentorship, and equipment for various law enforcement entities. Moreover, the Biden administration intends to provide $1.5 million in technical assistance to aid Kenya’s electoral legal framework reform process, focusing on strengthening election commission, political parties, and campaign finance regulations.
During the meeting, Ruto was accompanied by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Trade and Investment Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano, and US ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman.
exceptional chance
This occasion represented a rare opportunity, commemorating 60 years of diplomatic relations and heralding the onset of a new era of technological collaboration between the two countries. It underscored Kenya’s strategic significance to the US as a primary regional hub and the principal commercial conduit to eastern Africa.
Ruto expressed delight at having the chance to promote Kenya as an attractive destination for American investors and solidify the deepening cooperation between Kenya and the global superpower.
“We believe that as we celebrate these 60 years of relationship between our two countries, we also celebrate the opportunities that come with a friendship that exists between our two countries,” Ruto said.
To tap into the technological advances of the US, Ruto said his government would work with US companies as Kenya embarks on extending internet connections down to the ward level.
“We are expanding our footprint in the digital space. We are rolling out 100,000km of fibre-optic cable in Kenya to connect every ward and every village to the fibre backbone to make sure that e-commerce, digital jobs and digital learning are accessible to every child in Kenya,” Ruto told Biden.
“We are very proud that we are going to work with American companies because we have already agreed on the kind of investments that need to be fashioned between our two sides.”
He also vouched for Kenya’s young people regarding job opportunities in the digital-economy sphere where US tech companies are the leading employers globally.
“Our young population, talented, educated, innovative, and American technology that is cutting-edge, and investment capital and investors that are hungry for opportunity not just in Kenya but across the continent is a perfect match for this moment,” Ruto said.
“We’ve had twinning relationships between Silicon Savannah in Kenya and Silicon Valley in the US, and this meeting is about what we can do together around digital jobs, business process outsourcing, research and development.”
He hailed the CHIPS Act enacted by the US Congress in August 2022, noting that it will create a wealth of opportunities for investment between Kenya and the US.
“We have semiconductor companies here from Kenya and fintech corporates as well, one of them being M-Pesa, and we are going to be discussing the opportunities in that space,” he added.
Biden extends assistance
For his part, President Biden reiterated the significance of Kenya as a key ally of the US in Africa, offering to support the country in its digital transformation journey.
“As we honour 60 years of ties between our countries, it’s clear that our people are the true strength of this partnership and a partnership that’s working well,” Biden said. “Nowhere is it more important than in the realm of innovation. That’s why we have so many businesses around this table from Silicon Valley to Silicon Savannah.”
He went on: “And we’ve invested in new industries that have generated billions of dollars economically, and they’ve created new opportunities that have lifted our countries across both our continents and our people and our innovators have also been brought together.”
He added: “We’re going to see more technological change in the next 10 years. I’ve been saying this for a long time, and I mean it. We need your help to seize this moment. We really do. And we need your effort. We need you to help us find opportunities to bring the public and private sectors together.”
He urged Ruto to strengthen supply chains and industries in Kenya, including the clean energy and e-commerce sectors, to make technological partnerships and innovation possible between the two countries.
