President Joe Biden and Kenya's William Ruto want economies around the globe to take action to reduce the enormous debt burden crushing many developing nationsPresident Joe Biden welcomes Kenya's President William Ruto to the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 22, 2024.
“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. Biden and Ruto are set to hold formal talks and a joint news conference on Thursday before a state dinner in a pavilion on the South Lawn of the White House.
Kenya’s debt-to-GDP ratio tops 70%, with the bulk of it owed to China. 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.to help quell gang violence that has ravaged the Caribbean nation for months.
Administration officials said that several private sector investments are expected to be announced during the visit. The Kenyan president told the tech executives that Kenya —and Africa more broadly — have a young, innovative populace that is “hungry for opportunities.”