This morning, President William Ruto will arrive in the United States for a 5-day state visit at the invitation of his host, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., the 46th President of the United States.
Kenya plays a crucial strategic role in the global arena, so it comes as no surprise that our president is the first sitting African leader to receive an invitation for a state visit to the US since 2008.
There are several ways to describe Kenya’s strategic importance to the rest of the world that defined the trip to the US.
Kenya has played and continues to play a leading role in global peace and security, specifically 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 transnational organised 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. Many global organisations have their regional headquarters in Kenya.
Geographically, Kenya is the gateway to East and Central Africa, especially in terms of trade and investment in the hinterlands. This is due to its 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, peaceful transfer of power, a progressive bill of rights, functional states, and governance institutions, making us a great example in the region.
These, coupled with the country’s well-developed human resources, security, political stability, excellence in ICT, and Kenya’s unrivalled hospitality, make us an attractive and irresistible player with whom the rest of the globe would want to build partnerships.
The president also travelled to the United States on a private jet, leaving behind the state-owned presidential jet.
The Abu Dhabi government owns Royal Jet LCC, the company that owns the private jet President William Ruto used to travel to the United States of America.
Ruto’s estimated cost for the 9-hour flight to Atlanta, using a jet that costs 18,000 US dollars per hour, is Kshs 71 million. This is solely for the one-way journey to Atlanta.
