Kenyatta will be First African leader to be hosted by President Biden at White House
The visit on Thursday comes only weeks after the Presidents of Ghana and Zambia were hosted by Vice President Kamala D. Harris at the White House.
President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya will be the first African leader to be hosted by U.S. President Joseph R. Biden Jr. at the White House since Mr. Biden was inaugurated about nine months ago.
The visit, on Thursday, comes only weeks after the Presidents of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo and Zambia Hakainde Hichilema were hosted by U.S. Vice President Kamala D. Harris at the White House.
Biden and Kenyatta will discuss “the strong U.S.-Kenyan bilateral relationship and the need to bring transparency and accountability to domestic and international financial systems,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement on Tuesday. “They will also discuss efforts to defend democracy and human rights, advance peace and security, accelerate economic growth, and tackle climate change. The meeting will build on the leaders’ phone call in February and on President Biden’s commitment to the U.S. partnership with Africa based on principles of mutual respect and equality.”
It is not clear whether President Biden will address issues regarding corruption with Kenyatta after the Pandora Papers showed that the Kenyan President and six members of his family have been linked to 13 offshore companies.
President Biden has asserted that the fight against corruption will be at the center of his foreign policy agenda.
Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. government, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. and New York City.
