Mike Johnson Meets with Kenyan President Ruto

Well, I'd just like to say we are grateful to host the president. As you all may recognize or remember, this is I believe, the first state visit for an African nation since 2008. And of course we regard Kenya as our closest friend in East Africa in a very strategic partnership that we have together with our countries and we certainly honor and appreciate that. A couple of thoughts I just wanted to share and I'll share with the president here privately when we visit, but we certainly are mourning the loss of many in the recent floods there. (00:32) We can relate to natural disasters here as well, and I know what that means. As a resident of Louisiana, we have lots of flooding issues and those are tragic things, so we stand with you. And we're really grateful for Kenya's partnership in opposing extremists around the world and partnering together to oppose Al-Shabaab and the Jihadists and stand against the Houthis and the Red Sea and other places. And we're really grateful for what Kenya has done to assist with Haiti in recent days in our hemisphere to try to keep stability. (01:04) And we applaud all of the good work and leadership that you've championed with regard to the anti-corruption laws and all of those things. Really, really important. We believe, and I know you do as well, that economic stability can really assist with social stability. And that's an important principle that we try to advance together. And I know there are a lot of Americans excited about further investment in Kenya, especially with the tech sector and some of the things that you all are advancing. (01:30) And so we're really happy to advance that. So we just want to say we are just very happy for your visit and the timing I believe is important. There is a lot going on around the world, things that deeply concern both of our nations, and I think the stronger our partnership, the better off all of us are. And so we want advance those ideas on your visit and welcome all of your dignitaries and officials that have come along. We appreciate your time and being here and we're really happy to welcome you here. So thank you for coming. Thank you for coming.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It's a great honor for me to visit the United States and for your consideration for us to have this conversation in this very auspicious institution. As you know, Kenya and the United States share a common bond and we share common values of freedom, democracy, rule of law. And we are celebrating this year, 60 years of solid friendship between the United States and Kenya. Sharing in many areas, as you have said correctly. In the space around peace and security, I think we have common positions on working with different countries to see how to resolve challenges of security. (03:02) For example, in the Horn of Africa, we have security challenges in Somalia. And that you have said correctly, we have been fighting the Al-Shabaab for the last almost 20 years. And part of the conversation we're going to have is on how we can make sure that the throw down of ATMIS troops does not create a vacuum That will end up being filled by Al-Shabaab. And Kenya and the United States and frontline states need to work together to see how that can be done, not calendar-based withdrawal, but conditions-based withdrawal. (03:43) And that is the case also for what we are doing in Sudan, in South Sudan, in Eastern DRC. Kenya is the anchor state and we are doing the heavy lifting around security in that space. And hopefully we'll be having a conversation as to how we can strengthen the bond and the relationship and the partnership between the US and Kenya. For Kenya to be in a position to continue to anchor the security and stability of that region as you do stuff elsewhere. You also agree that the economy is a big space. (04:26) We will be discussing how we can build on investment, on trade, on business, and in the spaces around AGOA. We will be asking the Congress to renew AGOA for another 10 years. It means jobs, it means opportunities, it means business, it means access to markets to many people, not just in Kenya, but in the African continent. We will also be having a conversation around PEPFAR and seeing the partnership that has saved maybe 20, 30 million lives in our continent and how that as well can be extended so that more people can continue to benefit from that space as countries organize themselves on matters to do with health. (05:23) And of course, working together also on how the United States being the leader of free market economy, how we can have a fairer international financial system, where all countries are treated equally, and especially as we look at the replenishment of the International Development Association, 21st replenishment. You know that three weeks ago with the World Bank, I convened the IDA 21st replenishment where we had 21 countries from our continent meeting, and the request that they have made is for the United States of America to lead the way in doubling the concessionary financing available under the World Bank program on the concessional window around IDA. (06:25) That way we can assist 26 countries in Africa, 52 countries globally, to be able to do more for their communities and that they shouldn't be spending resources on debt repayment, but they should be spending on health, on education, on social services. Again, we're looking at how we can build a stronger bond between Kenya and the United States and how that can lead into us working collaboratively to solve regional and global challenges so that we have a freer, a much safer, a much healthier globe for us to live in.