This week, US President Joe Biden will host Kenyan President William Ruto for extensive talks that are expected to cover debt relief for Kenya, the future of Haiti, Ukraine, Sudan, and other issues.
Kenya has been dealing with acute liquidity issues, and a senior administration official told Reuters on Monday that the US is urging big creditor countries, including China, Kenya's largest creditor, to provide debtor countries with relief.
"We think it's essential that responsible debtors provide reprieves for countries like Kenya, whether that's by debt service suspensions or via new grant assistance," the official said.
Washington also urges international financial institutions to provide low-cost financing to Kenya and other countries.
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During the state visit this week, the official stated that there will be significant joint announcements about debt relief "on how countries like Kenya can tackle this problem of debt."
One of Washington's goals in scheduling the Kenyan leader's high-profile visit is to counter China's growing influence in Africa.
Last month, US Treasury Undersecretary Jay Shambaugh warned China and other countries that have made large loans to low-income countries against free-riding by collecting debt service payments and limiting follow-on loans.
The comments reflected growing frustration among Western and debtor countries with Beijing's slow pace of debt restructuring efforts and debt relief deals.
Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, an interfaith alliance of religious, development, and advocacy organizations, said Ruto's visit would send necessary signals about US policy toward Africa.
"When Ruto speaks, he's really speaking for Africa. And given that President Biden hasn't had the chance to visit Africa yet, this meeting is not only about Kenya, it's really about sub-Saharan Africa as a whole," LeCompte said.
At a meeting hosted by Ruto last month, African leaders urged rich countries to make record contributions to the World Bank's International Development Association, a low-interest facility that developing countries rely on to help fund development and combat climate change.
According to the official, Biden and Ruto will discuss security cooperation as the United States-Kenya relationship evolves from regional to global. The official said they would discuss Haiti, Ukraine, Sudan, and other international hotspots.
Kenya had agreed with Haiti to expedite the deployment of police officers to combat the Caribbean nation's spiraling violence but abruptly reversed course in mid-March, stating that the deployment would be paused.
Biden and Ruto are expected to hold a joint news conference after their talks on Thursday, followed by a state dinner.
