US President Joe Biden with Kenyan President William Ruto at the White House. AP
US President Joe Biden with Kenyan President William Ruto at the White House. AP
US President Joe Biden with Kenyan President William Ruto at the White House. AP
US President Joe Biden with Kenyan President William Ruto at the White House. AP

Biden hosts Ruto with US set to name Kenya as 'major non-Nato ally'


Jihan Abdalla
  • English
  • Arabic

US President Joe Biden welcomed Kenyan President William Ruto to the White House on Thursday for the first state visit by an African leader in 15 years, with discussions on issues including debt relief and the conflicts in Sudan, Haiti and Ukraine.

Mr Biden announced that he was working with Congress to designate the East African country as a major non-Nato ally, the first such designation for a nation in sub-Saharan Africa.

The designation is given to countries outside Nato with which the US military has close working relationships.

“Our joint counter-terrorism operations have degraded ISIS and Al Shabab across East Africa," Mr Biden said at a joint press conference.

"Our mutual support for Ukraine has rallied the world to stand behind the UN Charter and our work together on Haiti is helping pave the way to reduce instability and insecurity."

The move comes as Nairobi prepares to send police to Haiti as part of a UN-led effort to quell gang violence and insecurity in the Caribbean country. The Biden administration lauded the move, which will involve about 1,000 Kenyan police officers.

“Kenya raised its hand when not a lot of other actors did to bring security and stability to Haiti, so we welcome that,” a senior US official said.

The Biden administration has asked Congress to supply Kenya with $300 million towards that effort, as well as $60 million for equipment assistance.

Mr Biden said while there no US forces would be sent to Haiti, Washington would support the mission with logistics, intelligence and equipment.

“During our discussions, we agreed on the significant opportunity for the US to radically recalibrate its strategy and strengthen its support for Africa,” Mr Ruto said after the meeting.

“We affirm our mutual commitment to the stabilisation of Haiti through the multinational security support mission.”

Other items on the agenda included ways to work together on trade and investment, technology, climate, clean energy and health, the White House said.

A state dinner, which will also be attended by first ladies Jill Biden and Rachel Ruto, is to take place in the evening. The visit, which marks the 60th anniversary of official diplomatic relations between the two countries, comes as Nairobi has working to repay a series of high-interest loans to China.

The Biden administration, eager to counter China's rising influence in Africa, used the visit to announce the launch of the Nairobi-Washington Vision, the White House said in a fact sheet. The initiative aims to convince African states that the US is a better economic partner than China.

But the three-day state visit, taking place amid Mr Biden's re-election campaign, has further emphasised the intense partisanship in Washington.

On Wednesday, Mr Ruto met members of Congress, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, an ally of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

But Mr Johnson rejected requests by Democrats to extend an invitation to Mr Ruto to deliver a speech to a joint session of Congress.

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  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Born November 11, 1948
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Updated: May 23, 2024, 8:35 PM