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Amidst the increasing competition, Washington faces from Russia and China across the African continent, Ruto’s rousing welcome in the US assumes importance
Kenya’s President William Ruto, during his US visit, met with a bipartisan group of senators on Capitol Hill, as Nairobi prepares to deploy troops to Haiti as part of a United Nations-led intervention to calm a spiraling security crisis in the Caribbean country. Amidst the increasing competition Washington faces from Russia and China across the African continent, Ruto’s rousing welcome in the US assumes importance.
Republican Party Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, praised Kenya for its role in fighting extremism and partnering with the US to oppose al-Shabaab and the jihadists. He also hailed the East African country’s stand against the Houthis in the Red Sea and other places. That, he said, would lead to stability and peace in respective regions.
Ruto’s visit coincides with the completion of 60 years of meaningful engagement between the US and Kenya. Ruto has been accorded a state visit, the first to be extended to any head of state in Africa since 2008. In his address, Rutao described important landmarks in its bilateral relations with the US, notably for ensuring peace and security.
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The Kenyan president said his country had been fighting the Islamist militant group for the past almost 20 years. Importantly, Ruto said that there should be a “conditions-based” withdrawal of US troops in the region, rather than a “calendar-based” one. He also referred to the heavy debt burden of Kenya and other African countries and sought means to address it.
