This week’s Insider Deals are so good you’ll want all of themPresident 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, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. to the United States by an African leader in more than 15 years to call on economies around the globe to take action to reduce the enormous debt burden crushing Kenya and other developing nations.
“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. Behind the scenes is China’s reluctance to forgive debt and its extreme secrecy about how much money it has loaned and on what terms, which has kept other major lenders from stepping in to help.Credit ratings agency Fitch estimates Kenya will spend almost one-third of its government revenues just on interest payments this year.
The designation, while largely symbolic, reflects how Kenya has grown from a regional partner that has long cooperated with U.S. counterterrorism operations on the continent to a major global influence — even extending its reach into the Western Hemisphere. Kenya will be the first sub-Saharan African country to receive the status.
Ruto arrived in Washington on Wednesday and began his three-day state visit by meeting with Biden and tech executives from Silicon Valley and Kenya's growing tech sector —known as the Silicon Savannah.