US elevates security relationship with Kenya at state visit

US President Joe Biden welcomes Kenya's President William Ruto to the White House in Washington, May 22, 2024. US President Joe Biden and Kenya's President William Ruto shake hands as they meet with business leaders in the East Room of the White House in Washington, May 22, 2024.

The United States will designate Kenya as its first major non-NATO ally in sub-Saharan Africa, the White House said as President Joe Biden on Thursday welcomed President William Ruto for a state visit. The significant strategic move signals the shifting of U.S. security cooperation to East Africa just as U.S. troops prepare to depart Niger, leaving a vacuum that Russian forces have begun to fill.