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It “will strengthen our shared commitment to advance peace and security, expand our economic ties, and stand together in defense of democratic values,� Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “The leaders will discuss ways to bolster our cooperation in areas including people-to-people ties, trade and investment, technological innovation, climate and clean energy, health, and security.�

Word of Ruto's visit comes after that it is working on an official agreement with Kenyan officials to secure the long-awaited deployment of Kenyan police forces there. High-ranking officials from both countries recently met in the U.S. for three days to draft a memorandum of understanding and set a deadline for the arrival of forces in Haiti from the east African country.

Jean-Pierre added Friday that, beyond Kenya, Rutto’s visit to Washington will "further the vision� that “African leadership is essential to addressing global priorities.�

First lady Jill Biden traveled to Kenya last February during a five-day, two-country The White House also confirmed that both Ruto and Kenyan first lady Rachel Ruto will be honored with a dinner with the Bidens.

The White House , which followed the president's skipping a stop in that country earlier in 2023 to focus on debt limit talks in Washington. But those festivities last fall were toned down some given .

Biden said in December 2022 that he would visit sub-Saharan Africa the following year, which would have made him the first U.S. president to travel there in a decade. The president pledged at the end of a in Washington with 49 leaders, in which he suggested the continent would be a strategic focus as the U.S. made political and financial commitments.

But other priorities interceded in 2023. Biden pulled off last-minute trips to and , as well as a . He ended last year by skipping a December U.N. climate change conference in Dubai, while , and never scheduled an Africa trip.

Biden is now in November's election while juggling a host of pressing foreign security matters, including the Israel-Hamas war and continuing discussion in Congress over for .

On Friday he making good on months of saying he'd visit the site of a that spilled a cocktail of hazardous chemicals and caught fire in February 2023.

Vice President Kamala also spoke Friday at the Munich Security Conference and was asked about Washington’s “growing transitional mindset� toward Africa — a characterization she disputed, countering that “the future has to be about partnership and investment.�

“I believe that we must think differently about the relationship between the United States and the continent of Africa,� the vice president said, adding, “We look at the future of the continent and how it will affect the world: It is indisputable. There will be a direct impact.�

Harris noted that the median age on the African continent is 19 and that population growth means that, in coming decades, as many as 1 in 4 people in the world will live there.

“In terms of the future, we must see the innovation that is currently happening there and partner with African leaders and nations,� she said. “And change the way we are thinking, in a way that is not about aid, but about partnership. Not what we do for the continent, but what we do with the continent and its leaders.�