President Biden is expected to soon designate Kenya as a major non-NATO ally, a senior administration official said.
Biden is expected to inform Congress that he will designate Kenya with the lauded title, which comes with special privileges, the official said, describing it as an acknowledgment that “Kenya is already a global partner.”
“This is also big because it’s the first major non-NATO ally for us in sub-Saharan Africa,” the official added.
The news comes while Kenyan President William Ruto is on a three-day state visit to the U.S. He met with Biden at the White House on Wednesday.
Only 18 countries are designated as major non-NATO allies, including close allies Japan, Israel, and Australia.
Major non-NATO allies are eligible for benefits including being a candidate for U.S.-owned war reserve stockpiles, the priority delivery of excess weapons and defense equipment and eligibility for loans related to cooperative research, development or testing.
Kenya has recently stepped up to lead the deployment of a multinational police force to Haiti, where armed gangs have taken over the capital of Port-au-Prince and have plunged the Caribbean nation into a humanitarian crisis.
An unofficial deployment date set for Thursday may not be met, according to the Miami Herald, as concerns mount over the procurement of vehicles and helicopters. The deployment could be pushed back to early June.
The senior administration official said Ruto and Biden are expected to discuss the Haiti deployment Thursday along with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The U.S. has pledged $300 million to support the Kenyan deployment to Haiti and has collaborated closely with Ruto’s administration on the mission.
“We’re focused right now on getting it right and making sure the Kenyans have what they need,” the official added.
Armed gangs have been rampant across Haiti since the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, but they began cooperating more closely in February and freed prisoners before taking over most of Port-au-Prince.
The Kenyan-led deployment was first agreed to last year but has been delayed by the armed takeover of the gangs and the collapse of Haiti’s government, which only recently formed a transitional council to form new leadership.
The deployment is expected to rescue Haiti from a deepening humanitarian crisis as aid groups struggle with supplies with the capital nearly completely shut down, though the international airport recently opened and may offer some relief.