Kenyan President William Ruto became the first African leader to make a state visit to the US since 2008, with Washington rolling out the red carpet in an unusual, no-expense spared push to sweet-talk the strategically-situated East African nation.
At first glance, Kenya’s strategic significance to Washington may seem uncertain, with bilateral trade hitting a modest $1.3 billion in 2023 ($443 million in US exports, $895 million in Kenyan exports, respectively).
The US expected to announce a $250 million package of investments via the US International Development Finance Corporation, including money for housing construction. On the eve of Ruto’s visit, the United States Agency for International Development announced a $32 million in funding for Kenya’s education system, while the State Department unveiled a $3.3 million scholarship program.
A pro-US stronghold during the Cold War and a frontline ally during the so-called ‘war on terror’, Kenya has become a crucial jumping off point for US military operations across eastern Africa, with access to bases including Camp Simba, Mombassa and Wajir.
Somali-based Al-Shabab jihadists raided Camp Simba in January 2020, killing a US soldier and two contractors, and destroying five aircraft and helicopters.
US deployments in Kenya top 1,000 troops, and the country’s significance has only grown over time after other African nations, including Niger and Chad, began kicking US forces out.
The US is also interested in Kenyans as potential foot soldiers for the ‘international rules-based order’, with Kenyan forces expected to lead an international intervention in Haiti (providing 1,000 of 2,500 troops and police in the force), for which Nairobi expects $300 million in US funding.
The deployment has been fiercely criticized by Kenya’s opposition, and human rights activists fear the deployment could result in a spike in an extrajudicial killings and torture. Last July, Kenyan police killed 35 during cost of living protests across the African nation.
Finally, the US is set to designate Kenya as its first major non-NATO ally in Sub-Saharan Africa, giving Nairobi access to concessionary loans, US arms stockpiles on Kenyan soil, new opportunities for joint training, and providing Washington a with a chance to expand the size of its footprint in Africa.