President Ruto lauds U.S. support in meeting with Secretary Blinken

President William Ruto met U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday to review strategic partnerships and collaboration opportunities on shared priorities between Nairobi and Washington D.C.

The head of state highlighted the significance of his state visit to the United States in May, emphasizing the progress made in various sectors since then, including key partnerships with Microsoft and advancements related to the CHIPS Act.

"It was a historic moment when I came for the state visit, and subsequent to the state visit I think so much is underway with Microsoft, with all the other agreements, with the CHIPS Act, and the discussions around investments and trade. I'm happy that we’ve made progress on our negotiations on the strategic trade and investment agreement," said Ruto.

Ruto also reflected on his recent visit to Haiti, where he observed the challenges and optimism on the ground.

He noted improvements in security and infrastructure, particularly at the airport and police academy, but pointed out the need for additional personnel and resources to fully address the ongoing issues.

"Listening to the commanders and the Haitian police on the ground, both from MSS and the Haitian police, significant progress made, the airport a lot more secure, their hospitals, the police academy, around the port, but with very big gaps of more additional personnel, more equipment, a lot more logistics required, a lot more resources required," said Ruto.

Ruto further thanked the U.S. for its support in Kenya and across Africa, particularly in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and expressed eagerness to continue conversations on how their partnership can help tackle regional challenges.

Blinken on his part lauded President Ruto for Kenya’s leadership of the Multinational Security Support mission to Haiti and for Kenya’s role in promoting regional peace and security in Africa. 

"I just want to again thank you for Kenya’s remarkable leadership of the Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti. I was in Haiti a couple of weeks ago and saw for myself Kenya’s leadership on the ground. But there and in so many other regional challenges in Africa, Kenya is playing an absolutely essential leadership role."

"For our part, we look forward to continuing our own discussions about how we can work together even more, particularly to help support your economic programs and economic growth, as well as the important work for the Kenyan people."