Ruto, Marco Rubio discuss Haiti, trade in New York

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President of Kenya William Ruto on Wednesday while both were in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

In an interview with Reuters before the meeting, Ruto said that he sought to convince Rubio to extend the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), an initiative which grants African countries duty free access to the U.S. market.

Ruto added that he would push Washington to conclude a bilateral trade deal by the end of the year. Talks on a trade agreement between Nairobi and Washington began under Trump's first presidency but lost steam under Biden.

A statement from the U.S. State Department said that Secretary Rubio "lauded Kenya's brave contributions to Haiti's peace and security."

A Kenya-led multinational force is currently deployed in Haiti, but it has not contained the violence in that Caribbean nation, and there have been some recent proposals to increase the international support.

The statement also said Rubio and Ruto reviewed numerous opportunities for U.S. commercial investment in Kenya.