Ruto Arrives in the US Today As First African President to be Invited for State Visit Since 2008

President William Ruto will arrive in United States this morning, for a 5-day State Visit at the invitation of his host Joseph Robinette Biden Jr, the 46th President of the United States.

Kenya is a key strategic player in the global arena and it is no surprising that our president becomes the first sitting African leader to be invited on a state visit to the United States since 2008.

Our strategic value to the rest of the world can be articulated in different ways:

Global Peace and Security whereby Kenya has played and continues to play a leading role in Peacekeeping, Peace Support and Peace Enforcement. Kenya has also been involved in regional conflict management efforts in the Horn and Great Lakes regions helping to mediate conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, and Ethiopia. Security-wise, Kenya is also a critical ally in the fight against terrorism and trans-national organized crimes.

Diplomatically, Kenya hosts the only United Nations headquarters in the global South, with at least 20 UN agencies having offices in Nairobi, making Kenya’s capital a critical node in global multilateral diplomacy.

Economically, Kenya is East and Central Africa’s most vibrant and open economy, making us an attractive destination for trade, business and investment with many global organizations having their regional headquarters in Kenya.

Geographically, Kenya is the gateway to East and Central Africa especially on matters trade and investment to the hinterlands. This is due to geographical advantage further bolstered by the country’s most developed infrastructure in the region.

Finally, Kenya is a model country for democracy with our democratic credentials enunciated through regular elections and peaceful transfer of power, a progressive bill of rights, functional state and governance institutions, making us a great example in the region.

These, coupled with the country’s well developed human resource, security, political stability, excellence in ICT and Kenyans unrivalled hospitality make us an attractive and irresistible player with whom the rest of the globe would want to build partnerships with.

It is my hope that as President Ruto visits the United States and engages with strategic institutions and key players in different sectors/industries, he will be guided by an overarching mission of leveraging on our country’s strategic offerings to extract concessions and secure partnerships beneficial to Kenyans in the economic, social, cultural, security and political facets.

(Photo: Ongoing preparations at the White House ahead of the State Visit)

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