![President Biden is welcoming Kenyan President William Ruto at the South Portico of the White House on the 22nd. The two leaders met with a group of technology company CEOs the day before their official state visit.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5477x5477+909+0/resize/1100/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F5e%2F7c%2Fbba27695498184b94417cdcca340%2Fgettyimages-2153584647.jpg)
President Biden is welcoming Kenyan President William Ruto at the South Portico of the White House on the 22nd. The two leaders met with a group of technology company CEOs the day before their official state visit.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
Hide caption
Caption transition
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
President Biden is welcoming Kenyan President William Ruto on Thursday for a state visit, a trip intended to show that his administration wants to deepen America's ties with the African continent.
Biden is expected to announce plans to designate Kenya as a major non-NATO ally as part of a new list of agreements with the country, which would provide it with some defense trade benefits.
![Barbecue, a notorious gang leader in Haiti, said his troops were ready for a long war.](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2024/05/14/107_sq-057905c811904315f9423277e1a234d6db34ed01.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
Kenya will be the first sub-Saharan African country to receive the designation, recognizing the country's contributions to counterterrorism efforts and its work leading multinational forces in Haiti.
It has been a long time since an African leader received the honor of a state visit. Former President George W. Bush rolled out the red carpet for Ghana in 2008 and Kenya in 2003. Former President Barack Obama held a summit meeting with a national dinner for 50 leaders in 2014.
“This is the first state visit by an African head of state in almost 20 years. Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters:
China, Russia, etc. have been actively investing in the continent, and Biden is aiming to re-establish American influence starting with the 2022 summit.
![Vice President Harris wiped away tears as she toured a slave castle in Cape Coast, Ghana.](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/03/28/ap23087699571611_sq-e60298df0768c7b8ebf936d5403402ebfb22d0e1.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
Afterwards, Vice President Harris, First Lady Jill Biden, and seven members of the Biden Cabinet visited Africa, but Biden himself did not visit Africa despite promising to do so. He told reporters Wednesday that he would travel there in February. This goal will obviously depend on whether he succeeds in his re-election.
Biden met with tech business leaders from Kenya and the United States on Wednesday and recognized the country's growth in the tech sector.
The White House said the two leaders plan to focus on debt and climate issues in their meeting.
In the evening, Biden will open the gala with performances by the Howard Gospel Choir and country star Brad Paisley. First lady Jill Biden described it to reporters as “an elegant dinner under the stars, looking up from a pavilion made almost entirely of glass.” “In our one heaven.”
![First Lady Jill Biden arrives at the Kenya State Dinner press conference on May 22.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4715x4715+2358+0/resize/1100/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbe%2F3c%2F5820b1f047cbbb0e7429aa4a2567%2Fgettyimages-2153575553.jpg)
First Lady Jill Biden arrives at the Kenya State Dinner press preview on May 22.
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
Hide caption
Caption transition
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images/AFP