US to designate Kenya as major non-NATO ally as Biden receives Ruto

US President Joe Biden is expected to designate Kenya as a major non-NATO ally during a three-day state visit by Kenyan President William Ruto who was welcomed by Biden at the White House ahead of Thursday's formal portion of the visit, which will start with an honour guard and culminate in a lavish dinner.

Kenya would be the first sub-Saharan African country to receive the designation, reflecting Washington's drive to deepen relations with the East African nation, which has long also had close relations with Russia and China and is sending 1,000 troops to Haiti as part of a UN-led force deploying to address the security crisis in the Caribbean.

Other countries expected to back up Kenyan forces include the Bahamas, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Bangladesh.

The designation is granted by the United States to close, non-NATO allies that have strategic working relationships with the US military.

Biden in March designated Qatar as a major non-NATO ally of the United States, fulfilling the promise that he had made to Qatar earlier in the year.

The largely symbolic designation by Biden was described by two US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview an announcement that will come later during Ruto's visit, which began with a White House meeting on Wednesday afternoon with American and Kenyan tech leaders.

"I can't think of a better way to kick off this visit," Biden said at the start of the leaders' meeting with tech executives.

"Our people have brought us forward and pioneered new technologies that are transforming millions of lives. I mean, literally millions of lives. And we're going to go beyond that."

Kenya as key partner

Gyude Moore, head of the Africa Initiative at the Center for Global Development, said Kenya had proven to be a dependable and reliable partner for the US at a time when South Africa was pursuing its own more independent foreign policy.

"It makes sense for them to be given that designation. But what it means for the average Kenyan on the ground remains to be seen," said Moore.

Cameron Hudson, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the move would formalise a shift that has seen Kenya "move more squarely into a US orbit" in recent years, including greater cooperation on Somalia.

"It's very significant. No other sub-Saharan African country has it," he said.

The United States has long depended on regional partners in Africa but relations have soured with some key countries, noted Hudson.

South Africa has angered the United States by refusing to join sanctions on Russia following the Ukraine invasion and by bringing a case against Israel's genocidal war in Gaza.

Ethiopia fell from US good graces over the brutal war in its Tigray region, while Nigeria, the continent's most populous nation, has faced internal tumult.

"So Kenya really stands alone right now, I think, among regional powers that the United States can rely on," Hudson said.