Trump Embraces President Ruto in Historic Washington Engagement

President William Ruto has emerged from months of diplomatic uncertainty to secure renewed favour with the Trump administration, clinching landmark agreements that position Kenya as a key African ally in Washington’s reconfigured global strategy.

The turning point came last Thursday when Ruto witnessed the signing of a peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in Washington, an event that provided the Kenyan leader a platform to rebuild ties that had appeared strained since Trump’s return to the White House in January.

The visit yielded immediate dividends. Ruto signed a five-year health cooperation framework worth $2.5 billion with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, making Kenya the first country to enter into what Washington calls an “America First” global health funding agreement. Under the pact, the United States will contribute $1.7 billion while Kenya provides $850 million towards combating infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

The deal marks a significant shift from previous arrangements. Rather than channelling funds through non-governmental organisations as was common under the disbanded US Agency for International Development, the new framework places the Kenyan government at the centre of health programme implementation.

Trump himself extended a personal invitation to Ruto to attend the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles as his guest, praising Kenyan athletes as some of the world’s finest runners. “They do very well in the Olympics, those runners. I don’t know what you do with them. They are very good. I have been watching them for a long time,” Trump remarked during the Washington ceremony.

The warm reception contrasts sharply with earlier this year when Kenya’s relationship with Washington appeared precarious. Trump’s “America First” doctrine had seen aid programmes frozen and many of President Joe Biden’s foreign policies abandoned. Kenya seemed particularly vulnerable after the resignation of US Ambassador Meg Whitman just a week after Trump’s November 2024 election victory.

Tensions escalated further in May when Senator James Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, questioned Kenya’s status as a major non-NATO ally, a designation granted by Biden in June 2024. Risch expressed concern over Ruto’s declaration that Kenya and China were “co-architects of a new world order,” describing it as allegiance rather than mere alignment with Beijing.

However, the escalating conflicts in eastern DRC and Sudan provided Ruto an opportunity to demonstrate Kenya’s value as a regional mediator. As chairman of the East African Community, the Kenyan president positioned himself as a crucial guarantor of the Trump-brokered DRC-Rwanda peace accord, leveraging previous Nairobi and Luanda peace processes that had laid groundwork for the Washington agreement.

Trump made clear his commercial interest in the deal. “We will be involved in sending some of our biggest and greatest companies over to the two countries and we are going to take out some of the rare earths, and some of their assets and pay,” the US president said, referring to mineral resources in the DRC.

Ruto seized the moment to articulate Kenya’s economic stake. “A peaceful eastern DRC can unlock one of Africa’s greatest economic opportunities. Our vast resources and youthful talent, connected through regional infrastructure and the African Continental Free Trade Area, can ignite an unprecedented transformation,” he told delegates at the US Institute of Peace.

Diplomatic sources suggest Ruto benefited from problems facing regional peers. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni faces elections and image challenges in Washington, while Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu has drawn criticism over a police crackdown on protesters, prompting Washington to review bilateral relations. Tanzania notably did not attend the Washington peace ceremony.

Kenya also avoided inclusion in Trump’s latest immigration restrictions affecting 19 countries, including several African nations. The timing of the announcement, which spared Kenya while restricting Somalia, Burundi, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya and Sudan, coincided with Ruto’s presence in Washington.

Beyond the health agreement, Ruto secured backing from the International Finance Corporation for Kenya’s proposed National Infrastructure Fund, signalling a push towards non-debt development financing. Discussions also covered public-private partnerships for infrastructure projects including the modernisation of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Susan Burns, Chargé d’Affaires at the US embassy in Nairobi, explained the health framework resulted from intense negotiations beginning in September. “The threats of HIV and tuberculosis and other communicable diseases are global challenges, and so strengthening Kenya’s health system also makes America safer,” she said.

The agreement requires Kenya to provide Washington with updates on infectious diseases, including data, samples and materials as needed. It emphasises faith-based medical providers while remaining open to all facilities enrolled in Kenya’s health insurance system.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi hailed the DRC-Rwanda peace accord as a major breakthrough. “This accord represents a major breakthrough for a region that has endured decades of conflict and human suffering. The Nairobi and Luanda processes have been instrumental in guiding this journey,” Mudavadi said.

Despite the diplomatic success, challenges remain at home. Kenya’s relationship with the DRC had been fraught, with Kinshasa earlier rejecting two Kenyan diplomats and accusing Nairobi of supporting rebels in eastern Congo. A month before the Washington summit, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi reportedly declined a meeting with Ruto at a Qatar summit.

Former presidents Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, who served as co-facilitators for the Congo peace process, were also invited to the Washington ceremony, providing continuity to the diplomatic efforts.

While Ruto’s Washington visit has restored momentum to Kenya-US relations, the underlying concerns that prompted Senate scrutiny over Kenya’s ties with China, Russia and Iran have not disappeared. The Trump administration still seeks to review Kenya’s major non-NATO ally status within 90 days, with a classified report due to Congress within 180 days examining Kenya’s strategic alignment and foreign engagements.

For now, however, Ruto has succeeded in demonstrating Kenya’s value to Washington’s African strategy, securing tangible benefits while navigating the complex terrain between competing global powers. Whether this diplomatic success translates into sustained partnership will depend on how Kenya manages its relationships with both Western allies and emerging powers in the months ahead.