Biden, Kenyan leader urging help to lessen crushing debt on developing nations

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday praised Kenya’s William Ruto for “his bold leadership” as the White House marked the first state visit to the United States by an African leader in more than 15 years, one that comes as the Nairobi government is sending police to Haiti to help quell gang violence in the Caribbean nation.

The White House announced Biden’s intention to designate Kenya as a major non-NATO ally, an acknowledgment of the growing security partnership between the countries. The 1,000 Kenyan officers preparing to deploy will be part of a multinational force backed by $300 million in U.S. support, but not American troops.

As Ruto was welcomed into the Oval Office for a private meeting, Biden noted that the two were celebrating a 60-year of partnership that was not only “delivering for our nations” but “delivering for the world.”

“It’s remarkable. This visit is not just about our histories. It’s about the future,” Biden said. He added that there’s “virtually no challenge that Kenya and the United States can’t meet together.”

Earlier, Ruto and his wife, Rachel Ruto, had arrived for a pomp-filled ceremony that officials said was aimed at recognizing the growing importance of the U.S.-Kenya relationship. The leaders planned a joint news conference after their meeting and readied for a formal state dinner on the White House grounds.

Biden and Ruto are using the three-day state visit to Washington, in part, to call on economies around the globe to take action to reduce the enormous debt burden crushing Kenya and other developing nations.

The call to action, termed the Nairobi-Washington Vision, comes as Biden presses his appeal to African nations that the U.S. can be a better partner than economic rival China. Beijing has been deepening its investment on the continent — often with high-interest loans and other difficult financing terms.

Biden and Ruto want creditor nations to reduce financing barriers for developing nations that have been constrained by high debt burdens. They also call on international financial institutions to coordinate debt relief and support through multilateral banks and institutions providing better financing terms.

“Today we have an occasion to build synergies, to build partnerships that will not only solve our current problems, but also to build a future that is a much more promising, a much more prosperous, a fairer, a freer, a healthier and a much more prosperous future,” Ruto said.

The White House also announced $250 million in grants for the International Development Association, part of the World Bank, to assist poor countries facing crises.

Separately, a $1.2 trillion government funding bill passed by Congress in March allows the U.S. to lend up to $21 billion to an International Monetary Fund Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, which provides zero-interest loans to support low-income countries as they work to stabilize their economies, boost growth and improve debt sustainability. That funding is expected to be made available to the IMF in the coming weeks.

“Together the United States and Kenya are working together on the challenges that matter most to our peoples lives — health, security, economic security, cybersecurity and climate security,” Biden said at the arrival ceremony. “Mr. President, your bold leadership on this front has been important and significantly impactful.”

An Associated Press analysis of a dozen countries most indebted to China — including Pakistan, Kenya, Zambia and Laos — found the debt is consuming an ever-greater amount of tax revenue needed to keep schools open, provide electricity and pay for food and fuel.

Behind the scenes is China’s reluctance to forgive debt and its extreme secrecy about how much money it has loaned and on what terms, which has kept other major lenders from stepping in to help.

Kenya’s debt-to-GDP ratio tops 70%, with the bulk of it owed to China. Credit ratings agency Fitch estimates the East African nation will spend almost one-third of its government revenues just on interest payments this year.

Ruto said Wednesday that his talks with Biden will address “how we can have a fairer international financial system where all countries are treated equally.”

The major non-NATO ally designation, while largely symbolic, reflects how Kenya has grown from a regional partner that has long cooperated with U.S. counterterrorism operations on the continent to a major global influence — even extending its reach into the Western Hemisphere. Kenya will be the first sub-Saharan African country to receive the status.

The Biden administration has praised Kenya for stepping up in Haiti when so few other countries have agreed to do so. Haiti is the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation and has been mired in political instability and natural disasters for decades.

The Haiti mission will also include support from the Bahamas, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Bangladesh.

Ruto arrived in Washington on Wednesday and began the visit by meeting with Biden and tech executives from Silicon Valley and Kenya’s growing tech sector —known as the Silicon Savannah.

The Kenyan president told the tech executives that Kenya —and Africa more broadly — have a young, innovative populace that is “hungry for opportunities.”

The White House announced it was working with Congress to make Kenya the first country in Africa to benefit from funding through the CHIPS and Science Act, a 2022 law that aims to reinvigorate the computer chip sector within the United States through tens of billions of dollars in targeted government support.

“I think we have a historic moment to explore investment opportunities between Kenya and the United States,” Ruto said.

Despite the stated economic opportunities in Kenya, the country has seen a sharp decline in foreign investment since 2017 in a sign that there is more work to do given its size. Net investment for foreign companies has fallen from $1.35 billion in 2017 to $394 million in 2022, according to the World Bank.

Biden gathered dozens of African leaders in Washington in December 2022 to make the case that the United States under his watch was “all in” on Africa’s future. He laid out billions in promised government funding and private investment on the continent in health, infrastructure, business and technology. The Democrat also promised to visit sub-Saharan Africa in 2023.

But other priorities got in the way last year, including the Israel-Hamas war and Biden’s long battle with Republicans to renew funding for Ukraine in its war with Russia. The promised visit to Africa by Biden never materialized. Biden, who faces a tough reelection battle in November, said in an exchange with reporters as Ruto arrived at the White House on Wednesday that he still plans to go to Africa.

“I plan on going in February after I’m reelected,” Biden said.

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Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Sagar Meghani contributed to this report.