President William Ruto's administration and the US government struck five deals following their third iteration of the US-Kenya Bilateral Strategic Dialogue in Washington, D.C., on Monday, April 24.
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken led the talks, agreeing upon five pillars.
Among the beneficiaries of the latest rounds of talks was the Kenya Defence Forces. Through cooperation with US soldiers, President Joe Biden's administration committed to completing an operation centre in the country to bolster KDF's capabilities to deal with extremism.
"The United States committed to completing the Ksh668 million (USD 5 million) Counter Insurgency, Terrorism, and Stability Operations Center," the statement released by the US government read in part.
According to the agreement, the facility would be based at Manda Bay, in Lamu.
Biden's administration vowed to create at least one million new jobs annually in Kenya and greatly reduce food insecurity over the next five years. The deal was the first pillar of cooperation between Kenya and the US to revive the economy.
Election issues also featured in the agreements between the two governments. However, the US vowed to foster accountability and effective democratic institutions, strengthening the rule of law and respect for human rights, and addressing governance and fiscal transparency.
"The United States and Kenya also committed to continue to stand together against the illegal exploitation of wildlife caused by international organised crime.
Kenya and the US develop and strengthen the capacity of the Kenyan judiciary," two governments agreed.
Biden's government also vowed to deepen cooperation with Kenya by promoting the health sector. The key issues highlighted in the health sector included increasing Kenya’s domestic human vaccine and pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity, including offering incentives to foreign direct investment and skills transfer.
The two countries also committed to expanding their partnership to defend against common cyber threats.
Moreover, to curb corruption, the US vowed to help Kenya's Judiciary deal with cases of graft and terrorism.
"The United States will continue to partner with Kenyan law enforcement agencies and judicial institutions to build capacity to disrupt, respond to, and investigate corruption cases, acts of terrorism, and transnational organised crimes," the US stated.
