White House confirms August 27 Kenyatta-Trump meeting

The White House has announced a meeting between United States president Donald Trump and his Kenyan counterpart later this month, specifically on August 27.

In an official statement, the White House said the meeting between Uhuru Kenyatta and Donald Trump will look to discuss “ways to broaden the strategic partnership based on our shared democratic values and mutual interests.”

The duo will also be expected to hold talks in the area of trade, investment and security cooperation. Kenya and Ethiopia are seen as crucial to U.S. counterinsurgency combat in the East Africa region.

Whiles describing Kenya as a “vital partner” of the U.S., the statement stressed that “the meeting between the two leaders will reaffirm the longstanding relationship between the United States and Kenya as a cornerstone of peace and stability in Africa and the broader Indo-Pacific region.”

The Indo-Pacific region as alluded to comprises countries in Asia, but the East African coast is on the region’s far western edge according to the Australian Lowy Institute.

Kenyatta who won a final term in office after disputed elections in 2017 will become the third African president to visit the White House. The first north African leader was Egypt’s Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi before Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari took his turn earlier this year.

White House statement on Kenyatta-Kenyatta meeting

President Donald J. Trump will welcome President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya to the White House on August 27, 2018.

Kenya is a vital partner of the United States, and President Trump looks forward to discussing ways to broaden the strategic partnership based on our shared democratic values and mutual interests.

The meeting between the two leaders will reaffirm the longstanding relationship between the United States and Kenya as a cornerstone of peace and stability in Africa and the broader Indo-Pacific region.

President Trump and President Kenyatta will explore ways to bolster trade and investment between the two countries, while strengthening security cooperation.