Few details have emerged about what President William Ruto will do while on a state visit to the US later this month.
The White House has confirmed that President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host Ruto and his wife, First Lady Rachel Ruto, for a state visit on May 23 to mark the 60th anniversary of U.S.-Kenya diplomatic relations.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Dr Korir Sing’oei revealed Wednesday night among others, Ruto will hold a bilateral meeting with President Biden.
“They will consolidate conversations around our defence co-operation,” he said during a TV show.
He added the President will be hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce and there will be a number of deals that will be sealed in that context.
Ruto and his team will be hosted for dinner which is usually a big event that will bring the big players within the American society.
“The President is expected to address a joint congressional session,” added Sing’oei.
Ruto will later fly to Georgia and visit the Tyler Perry studios. There, he will be with Tyler Perry, a number of players within the Hollywood ecosystem would be able to have a conversation with him in relation to how they can work together with Kenya to unlock the potential of film at large, he added.
Tyler Perry is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of Mabel “Madea” Simmons, a tough elderly woman, and also portrays her brother Joe Simmons and her nephew Brian Simmons.
The US House Committee on Foreign Affairs has put in a formal request to Speaker Mike Johnson to invite Ruto to address a joint session of the Congress.
Ruto could make history in the United States if a request to the Speaker is granted. He would be the first Kenyan head of state to address a joint session of Congress, and the first African head of state to address Congress since former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf eighteen years ago.
In their letter to the Speaker, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Ranking Member Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY) said such an invitation would underscore the importance of the U.S.-Kenya relationship and send a valuable signal to the people of Africa. “
They said U.S.-Kenya relations continue to deepen, encompassing strong political, economic, technological, and cultural ties.
The letter notes that The United States is among Kenya’s largest trading partners, and Kenya is one of Africa’s most dynamic economies, boasting a top utilization rate of U.S. market access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
This year marks the 60-year anniversary of the U.S.-Kenya diplomatic relationship. Nearly 100,000 Kenyan-Americans call the United States home.
The Congressmen also pointed out that the United States maintains an overseas military base at Manda Bay, on the Indian Ocean, to support operations to counter terrorist threats from Al-Shabab.
These, they said, are just some examples of the close ties forged between the US and Kenya over the past six decades.
Liberia’s former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf did so eighteen years ago and used the occasion to tell of her country’s rise from the ashes of a deadly civil war.