{"id":9357,"date":"2024-05-23T12:02:21","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T12:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=9357"},"modified":"2024-05-23T12:02:21","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T12:02:21","slug":"kenyan-president-ruto-makes-historic-us-state-visit-first-african-leader-in-15-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=9357","title":{"rendered":"Kenyan President Ruto makes historic US state visit: First African leader in 15 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>7 Minute, 52 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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Kenyan President William Ruto will become the first African leader in more than 15 years to make an official state visit to the US.<\/p>\n

This is an opportunity for President Joe Biden to demonstrate commitment to Africa at a time when Washington appears to be playing catch-up in its engagement with the continent.<\/p>\n

But relations with other African allies are under strain, as strategic rivals including Russia and China challenge traditional areas of Western influence.<\/p>\n

Kenya\u2019s President William Ruto, right, and first lady Rachel Ruto arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Wednesday, May 22, 2024, for a state visit to the United States. (AP Photo\/Luis M. Alvarez)<\/p>\n

At one time Mr Ruto would have been an unlikely candidate to be feted at the White House with the pomp and ceremony granted to only a handful of close allies a year.<\/p>\n

The International Criminal Court charged him with crimes against humanity related to the violence that followed Kenya\u2019s 2007 election.<\/p>\n

President Joe Biden and Kenya\u2019s President William Ruto meet with business leaders in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo\/Susan Walsh)<\/p>\n

But the case collapsed and Mr Ruto has since reinvented himself as an indispensable partner to the US.<\/p>\n

Lingering suspicions about his democratic credentials are not the reason that congress decided against inviting him to address a joint session, says US ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman. As far as she knows, it is a scheduling issue.<\/p>\n

Ms Whitman, a former CEO of companies such as eBay and Hewlett Packard Enterprises, is a champion of Kenya and its investment potential as a tech hub, the so-called Silicon Savannah.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you really want to lean into Africa, then who would be the right choice to come to a state dinner?\u201d she asks.<\/p>\n

\u201cKenya has been a long-standing 60-year ally of the United States. It is certainly the most stable democracy in East Africa. President Ruto has stepped up and he\u2019s a real leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under Mr Ruto Kenya has developed its role as the region\u2019s diplomatic and business centre, an \u201canchor state\u201d for the US in a tough neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

Although domestically he has faced protests over his handling of the struggling economy, globally he has become an advocate for Africa on issues related to climate change and debt relief.<\/p>\n

Kenya is also an important security partner in East Africa, and has pleased Washington by pledging to send Kenyan police to Haiti.<\/p>\n

The only phone call President Biden made to a leader in sub-Saharan Africa last year was to Mr Ruto, about Nairobi\u2019s promise to lead a multinational force to the troubled country.<\/p>\n

First lady Jill Biden, center, greets Kenya\u2019s President William Ruto and first lady Rachel Ruto, center right, as they arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Wednesday, May 22, 2024, for a State Visit to the United States. (AP Photo\/Luis M. Alvarez)<\/p>\n

Analysts suspect the state visit is partly meant to compensate for the fact that Mr Biden has failed to keep his own promise to visit Africa.<\/p>\n

He made the pledge at a grand summit of African leaders in Washington two years ago, in which he assured his guests he was \u201call in\u201d for the continent. But since then, he has been distracted by crises elsewhere, such as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\nGetty Images| President Joe Biden welcomed a host of African leaders to Washington in 2022 but has not been to Africa as president\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The summit followed the administration\u2019s announcement of a new strategy aimed at turning its relationships with African countries into more equal partnerships that advance the strategic interests of both.<\/p>\n

In some ways Mr Ruto is the poster child of that approach, but as he arrives in Washington the focus has been on US setbacks in West Africa.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one country which best captures the challenges facing the US in Africa, perhaps it is Niger.<\/p>\n

For years it was home to more than 1,000 US troops, stationed on two bases from where they launched security operations against Islamist militants in the region.<\/p>\n

But a coup last year changed the nature of the relationship \u2013 with Niger\u2019s military rulers growing closer to Russia and Iran.<\/p>\n

American efforts to find a way to continue security co-operation broke down in March.<\/p>\n

The junta\u2019s prime minister told the Washington Post a senior US delegation had taken a \u201ccondescending tone\u201d and shown \u201ca lack of respect\u201d. He accused it of trying to dictate Niamey\u2019s relationships with other countries.<\/p>\n

This week the Pentagon confirmed a full withdrawal of its troops by September \u2013 opening the door to even closer ties between Niger and Moscow.<\/p>\n

Molly Phee, the State Department\u2019s top African affairs official, says it was impossible to square America\u2019s interests and values, which also included a timeline to return to civilian rule, with the junta.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shared legitimate concerns about the trajectory of [Niger\u2019s] discussions with Russia and Iran,\u201d she told the BBC.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, we were not able to reach an understanding that addressed our top priorities,\u201d she said, noting that the relationship should be reciprocal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe intend to maintain a diplomatic partnership, as well as other aspects of our relations.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\nAFP | The US has agreed to pull its troops, who were monitoring jihadist activity, out of Niger\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The breakdown follows Niger\u2019s expulsion of the French, the old colonial power.<\/p>\n

It highlights the tensions as the US tries to balance security partnerships with democratic values, limitations the Russians do not share.<\/p>\n

What has happened in Niger has been echoed in other Sahel countries \u2013 with Moscow happy to offer protection to those who seized power in a string of coups, often in exchange for access to natural resources.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks a small contingent of American troops were forced to leave Niger\u2019s neighbour Chad, when officials there questioned the future of the US presence.<\/p>\n

America is also facing increased competition from other nations on the continent. China has been investing in Africa for two decades, but there is a host of new middle-power players.<\/p>\n

A Gallup poll last year<\/a>\u00a0found that the US had lost its soft power edge while China had gained fans. But the biggest change was Russia\u2019s rise in popularity.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically the West has seen Africa as a problem to be solved. Actors like China and Turkey, and other Arab Gulf players, they see it as an opportunity to be seized,\u201d says Muritha Mutiga, the Africa programme director for the International Crisis Group.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, the way in which China, Turkey and the Gulf have engaged has been welcomed, because it is seen as a long-term bet, it is seen as taking the continent seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Biden administration points to some success in its efforts to treat Africa as a strategic partner.<\/p>\n

A stream of high-level visits has framed the importance of Africa as \u201cthe continent of the future\u201d, with its young fast-growing population, abundance of natural resources and increasing influence on the international stage.<\/p>\n

American backing has helped African nations win better representation at global forums, such as the G20, IMF and World Bank, although the US has struggled to get African support for its positions on Israel\u2019s war in Gaza, and Russia\u2019s war with Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\nAFP | US First Lady Jill Biden was in Kenya last year \u2013 one of a series of high-profile US visits to the continent\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The administration has also won plaudits for investing in the Lobito Corridor, a rail line snaking through Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia that will be used to transport critical raw materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith that Lobito Corridor, [the Americans] decided to speak in the language that Africans understand,\u201d says Kingsley Moghalu, a Nigerian political economist and former central bank governor.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are seen to be delivering major projects that are beneficial to African economies, and to African people, then off the back of that you have leverage to talk about democracy and things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex Vines, head of the Africa Programme at the Chatham House think-tank in London, pushes back on the perception that Western power is fading in Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne African leader said to me: \u2018We get tired of a Chinese buffet, we\u2019d like to go a la carte, we want choice,\u2019 \u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I do think what we\u2019re increasingly seeing is [that] plenty of African countries want a bit of the United States, but they will want a bit of Russia or UAE or Turkey.\u201d<\/p>\n

The challenge is \u201cpatchy African leadership\u201d with ambitious, long-term vision that can make the most of the competition.<\/p>\n

President Ruto is seen as one of the figures who can, but all, including Niger, have options.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a game of chess going on,\u201d Dr Vines says. \u201cThere is a new scramble for Africa. The difference is that the chess board, the African continent is alive, it\u2019s not passive. It can suck people in and really surprise them.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Joe Biden and Kenya\u2019s President William Ruto meet with business leaders in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo\/Susan Walsh)<\/p>\n

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