The United States is set to designate Kenya as key non-NATO ally.

The designation, granted to close non-NATO allies with strategic working relationships with the U.S. military, follows President Joe Biden’s earlier designation of Qatar in March.

It comes as part of Kenyan President, William Ruto’s three-day visit to the US, which began on Wednesday, May 22, 2024.

According to the White House, Biden will inform Congress on Thursday, May 23, 2024 that he will designate Kenya with the largely symbolic title.

Currently, 18 countries are designated as non-NATO allies, including Israel, Brazil and the Philippines.

Kenya will become the first sub-Saharan African country to receive the status, underscoring Washington’s intent to deepen ties with the East African nation.

The label will reflect Kenya’s rise from a regional partner that has long cooperated with US counterterrorism operations on the continent to a major global influence.

The Kenyan leader’s trip is the sixth state visit hosted by the Biden administration and the first for an African president since 2008.

Biden and Ruto are scheduled to meet again in the Oval Office on Thursday, followed by a joint news conference and a state dinner.

According to senior administration officials, Biden and Ruto will discuss a broad range of issues including trade, debt relief, and strategies for Haiti, Ukraine, Sudan, and other regions.

The two leaders expected to announce new US-backed investments in green energy and health manufacturing, along with a plan to cut Kenya’s high debt load, most of which is owed to China, a senior administrative official told the Reuters news agency.

The US will also announce $250m in new investments in Kenya through the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) including $180m for a major affordable housing project, bringing the US financing agency’s portfolio in Kenya to more than $1bn.

Both nations share a commitment to developing and deploying technology that promotes transparency, accountability, and human rights.

A U.S. official praised Kenya’s role as an “engine for innovation,” citing its $1 billion “Silicon Savannah” technology hub, which houses over 200 startups across sectors such as clean energy, microelectronics, financial technology, and e-commerce.

Washington is also planning a new semiconductor partnership with Kenya and is working with Congress to make Kenya the first African country to benefit from funding through the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.

The meeting between Biden and Ruto comes amid Biden’s appeals to African nations that the U.S can be a better partner than China, as Beijing deepens its investment in the continent, often with high-interest loans.

In the past year, Africa’s political landscape has been upended by a spate of military coups, wars and shaky elections that have given US rivals China and Russia more significant influence.

However, Biden and Ruto want creditor nations to reduce financing barriers for developing countries that high debt burdens have constrained.

“Together we will call to the international community to come together around these elements to support high-ambition countries with high-ambition financial support,” the White House said in a fact sheet detailing the effort.

Biden has said that he plans to visit the African continent in February 2025 should he win a second term.

Designation Formalises Kenya’s Alignment With U.S

Cameron Hudson, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, remarked that the move formalises Kenya’s alignment with the U.S., particularly in areas such as cooperation on Somalia.

He emphasised the significance of this designation, noting that no other sub-Saharan African country has received it.

Gyude Moore, head of the Africa Initiative at the Center for Global Development, also noted that Kenya has proven to be a reliable U.S. partner, particularly as South Africa pursues a more independent foreign policy.

Kenya’s designation as a major non-NATO ally comes as it prepares to deploy forces to Haiti as part of a U.N.-led mission to address the security crisis in the Caribbean nation.