US expected to designate Kenya as major non-NATO ally, source says – vopbuzz
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden is expected to appoint Kenya Kenyan President William Ruto is appearing as a key non-NATO ally during his three-day state visit this week, a source familiar with the plans said.
Kenya will be the first Sub-Saharan African country to receive this document. assignmentThis reflects Washington’s push to deepen relations with the East African country, which has also long had close ties with Russia and China.
While welcoming Ruto to the White House for a meeting with company executives, Biden told reporters that he planned to visit Africa in February after the US presidential election. The two leaders will meet again in the Oval Office on Thursday, followed by a joint press conference and state dinner.
Biden and Ruto will discuss a range of issues during the meeting, from trade to debt relief to progress on Haiti, Ukraine, Sudan and other regions, senior administration officials said.
On Wednesday, Biden said he and Ruto would usher in a new era of technology cooperation between the two countries, which will include work on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and semiconductors. He did not mention the definition of security.
The United States will also announce $250 million in new investments through the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), increasing the U.S. financing agency’s portfolio in Kenya to over $1 billion, DFC said.
A U.S. official said both countries are committed to ensuring the technology is developed and implemented in a way that advances transparency, accountability and human rights.
The official stated that Kenya, like the United States, has become “an engine for innovation”, referring to the $1 billion “Silicon Savannah” technology center, which hosts more than 200 startups spanning various sectors such as clean energy, microelectronics, and microelectronics. financial technology and e-commerce.
Participating businesses include Alphabet; Baylis Emerging Markets, a private equity firm specializing in African markets; BasiGo, a Kenyan electric bus company; Teneo, a global CEO consulting and advisory firm, and Gearbox Software, an American video game development company.
Washington is also planning a new semiconductor partnership with Kenya and is working with Congress to make it the first country in Africa to benefit from funding through the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, an administration official said.
Biden’s designation of Kenya as a key non-NATO ally comes as Kenya prepares to send forces to Haiti as part of a UN-led force assigned to address the security crisis in the Caribbean.
This designation is given by the United States to close non-NATO allies who have strategic business relationships with the U.S. military.
The White House had no immediate comment.
In March, Biden fulfilled the promise he made to Qatar at the beginning of the year by designating Qatar as one of the US’s important non-NATO allies.
Gyude Moore, head of the Africa Initiative at the Center for Global Development, said Kenya has proven to be a reliable and trustworthy partner for the United States at a time when South Africa is pursuing its own more independent foreign policy.
The move would formalize a shift that has seen Kenya “move more directly into the US orbit” in recent years, including greater cooperation on Somalia, said Cameron Hudson of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“This is very important. No other African country south of the Sahara has this situation,” he said.
Kenya will be the first Sub-Saharan African country to receive this document. assignmentThis reflects Washington’s push to deepen relations with the East African country, which has also long had close ties with Russia and China.
While welcoming Ruto to the White House for a meeting with company executives, Biden told reporters that he planned to visit Africa in February after the US presidential election. The two leaders will meet again in the Oval Office on Thursday, followed by a joint press conference and state dinner.
Biden and Ruto will discuss a range of issues during the meeting, from trade to debt relief to progress on Haiti, Ukraine, Sudan and other regions, senior administration officials said.
On Wednesday, Biden said he and Ruto would usher in a new era of technology cooperation between the two countries, which will include work on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and semiconductors. He did not mention the definition of security.
The United States will also announce $250 million in new investments through the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), increasing the U.S. financing agency’s portfolio in Kenya to over $1 billion, DFC said.
A U.S. official said both countries are committed to ensuring the technology is developed and implemented in a way that advances transparency, accountability and human rights.
The official stated that Kenya, like the United States, has become “an engine for innovation”, referring to the $1 billion “Silicon Savannah” technology center, which hosts more than 200 startups spanning various sectors such as clean energy, microelectronics, and microelectronics. financial technology and e-commerce.
Participating businesses include Alphabet; Baylis Emerging Markets, a private equity firm specializing in African markets; BasiGo, a Kenyan electric bus company; Teneo, a global CEO consulting and advisory firm, and Gearbox Software, an American video game development company.
Washington is also planning a new semiconductor partnership with Kenya and is working with Congress to make it the first country in Africa to benefit from funding through the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, an administration official said.
Biden’s designation of Kenya as a key non-NATO ally comes as Kenya prepares to send forces to Haiti as part of a UN-led force assigned to address the security crisis in the Caribbean.
This designation is given by the United States to close non-NATO allies who have strategic business relationships with the U.S. military.
The White House had no immediate comment.
In March, Biden fulfilled the promise he made to Qatar at the beginning of the year by designating Qatar as one of the US’s important non-NATO allies.
Gyude Moore, head of the Africa Initiative at the Center for Global Development, said Kenya has proven to be a reliable and trustworthy partner for the United States at a time when South Africa is pursuing its own more independent foreign policy.
The move would formalize a shift that has seen Kenya “move more directly into the US orbit” in recent years, including greater cooperation on Somalia, said Cameron Hudson of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“This is very important. No other African country south of the Sahara has this situation,” he said.
