President William Ruto held talks with U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio in a phone call hours after the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi issued a travel alert on Kenya.
The talks, according to Ruto, centred around several issues, especially how the U.S. and Kenya can collaborate to support the Haiti peacekeeping mission, which remains unpredictable as of August 2025.
"I had a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues," Ruto revealed in his statement.
According to the Head of State, the two agreed on the importance and need of establishing a United Nations support office for the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission in Haiti to aid efforts to help stabilise Haiti.
Currently, the United Nations Security Council's presence in Haiti is primarily through the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH).
However, with a UN Support Office operating in the war-stricken Port-au Prince, Haiti is set to receive more direct support since the office would serve as a logistical and operational backbone for the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.
Notably, UN Secretary‑General António Guterres has previously endorsed the idea of having a UN office in Haiti to provide essential services such as medical facilities and accommodation to security personnel.
The two leaders' resolutions came barely a fortnight after the Haitian government announced the implementation of a three-month state of emergency in the country's central region as gang war intensified.
Most parts of Haiti’s West, Artibonite and Centre departments are set to be affected by the measure, which was a deliberate effort by the government to protect a region considered a hub for the nation's farming activities.
The United Nations has previously lamented about inadequate funding to support the Haiti mission, with coordinator Ulrika Richardson revealing on August 12 that the U.N.'s efforts in Haiti were only 9.2 per cent funded.
Since the chaos began, an estimated 1.3 million people have been displaced, while more than 3,100 people have succumbed to the hands of gangs in 2025 alone.
Besides the Haiti Mission, Ruto and Rubio also discussed the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) intervention in Eastern DRC, with both leaders reaffirming our shared commitment to regional peace and sustainable security.
Further, Ruto also revealed the two leaders agreed to deepen cooperation between Kenya and the United States, amid recent reports suggesting the country's status as a non-NATO ally had come into focus in the U.S. Senate.
