President Biden Meets With Kenyan President William Ruto

4 months ago

President Biden speaks with Kenya President William Ruto.

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Transcript

00:00 >> Hello, everyone. It's great to be here.

00:02 Secretary Raimondo, thank you for the update you gave us.

00:05 And I want to thank all the folks around this table

00:08 for prioritizing a partnership

00:09 that I think is really, really important.

00:11 And we'll deliver dividends for both our countries.

00:16 And finally, Mr. President, I can't thank you --

00:19 think of a better way to kick off this visit.

00:22 When I visited Nairobi as Vice President,

00:24 I said that the true strength of Kenya was its people.

00:29 And the students, workers, founders, activists,

00:33 and innovators, entrepreneurs,

00:35 and so many people like you who really do depend on democracy

00:40 and support democracy.

00:42 And today, as we honor 60 years of ties between our countries,

00:46 it's clear that our people are the true strength

00:49 of this partnership and a partnership that's working well.

00:53 Nowhere is it more important than in the realm of innovation.

00:58 That's why we have so many business leaders

00:59 around this table.

01:01 From Silicon Valley to Silicon Savannah,

01:03 our people have brought us forward

01:07 and they're pioneering new technologies

01:09 that are transforming millions of lives.

01:11 I mean, literally, millions of lives

01:13 is going to go beyond that.

01:15 And we've invested in new industries

01:17 that have generated billions of dollars economically,

01:20 and they've created new opportunities

01:23 that have lifted up our countries

01:24 across both our continents.

01:27 And our people and our innovators

01:29 have also brought together --

01:31 we are all excited about this.

01:35 I mean, I've not seen my team so excited

01:38 about a visit in a long time.

01:40 And I think it's all because of the American companies

01:44 that are here. But -- oh, I'm kidding.

01:46 As -- and, President, as you and I discussed --

01:51 we'll discuss tomorrow -- we're launching a new era of

01:53 technology -- technological cooperation

01:55 between Kenya and America,

01:57 including new exchanges and investments

02:00 in key fields of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence,

02:03 and semiconductors.

02:05 And this progress is thanks in large part

02:09 to the leaders around this table.

02:10 So my message is really straightforward and simple.

02:14 Thank you, thank you, and keep it up.

02:16 We're going to see more technological change

02:18 in the next 10 years.

02:20 I've been saying this a long time,

02:21 and I mean it -- than we've seen in the last 50 years.

02:24 And we need your help to seize this moment.

02:26 We really do.

02:28 And we need your oper- --

02:30 we need you to help us find opportunities

02:32 to bring the public and private sectors together.

02:34 And we need you to help us strengthen the supply chains

02:38 and industries of the future,

02:39 including clean energy and e-commerce as well.

02:42 And we need you to keep investing

02:45 in the diversity of our democracies,

02:47 which should make this innovation possible.

02:50 So, in return, I promise we'll prioritize

02:53 technological partnerships between our countries.

02:56 And as Ambassador Whitman --

02:57 and, by the way, she's smarter than I am.

03:00 She's handling everything.

03:02 I was amazed -- we had a meeting earlier.

03:04 I'm going to -- this is ad libbing, but she sat there.

03:07 She had more statistical data to spout off

03:10 without any piece of paper in her hand.

03:12 That amazed me. I don't know. It reminded me of my sister.

03:17 But -- (laughs) -- but, look,

03:20 I think we really can seize the moment.

03:23 In return, I think, as I said, we're going to prioritize

03:27 the technological partnership between our countries

03:30 and former MEC- -- CEO -- who was also a former CEO --

03:36 is going to make sure that happens.

03:38 And Vice President Harris is already building

03:40 a new public-private partnership

03:42 to increase investments in innovation.

03:45 And because our cooperation matters,

03:47 it's not just for our own people,

03:48 but for people around the world.

03:50 If this relationship continues to grow as it is,

03:53 I think it benefits not only the United States and Kenya,

03:56 but will lead and will have positive benefits

03:58 literally around the world.

04:00 So, thank you again for being here.

04:02 I look forward to working with you.

04:03 And -- and, you know, we keep investing

04:06 in the true strength of our nations,

04:08 our people, and -- and the years ahead.

04:10 With that, Mr. President, I'm going to turn it over to you.

04:14 >> President Mbele: Okay. Thank you very much.

04:27 Thank you very much, Mr. President.

04:30 And on behalf of my delegation and I to --

04:35 in a very special way,

04:36 thank you for extending an invitation to me

04:39 to undertake this state visit.

04:43 I bring you very warm greetings from the people of Kenya

04:47 and our brothers and sisters from across the continent.

04:51 And I undertake this state visit

04:55 on the background of 60 years of solid friendship

05:00 between the United States and Kenya.

05:03 And specifically, Mr. President, on the subject

05:07 we are driving today here on the digital space,

05:14 on technology, and the whole space around investment,

05:21 trade, and the relationship

05:24 that we have managed to build over the years.

05:27 To confirm to you that Kenya is a young tech country,

05:34 and as you have said correctly,

05:37 we have spent a lot of time

05:39 working with our technology companies,

05:43 our technology investors.

05:45 We've had twinning relationships

05:50 between Silicon Savannah in Kenya

05:53 and Silicon Valley in the U.S.

05:55 And this meeting is about what we can do together

05:59 around digital jobs, business process outsourcing,

06:04 research and development.

06:07 And, Mr. President, one very important aspect

06:10 is the CHIPS Act,

06:11 which hopefully we will be able to have a conversation

06:15 about in the coming days.

06:17 And, Your Excellency, it speaks to the wealth of opportunity

06:23 that exists between Kenya and the United States.

06:26 Our young population, talented, educated, innovative,

06:31 and American technology that is cutting edge

06:36 and investment capital and investors

06:39 that are hungry for opportunities,

06:42 not just in Kenya, but in our continent,

06:44 is a perfect match for this moment.

06:47 I think we have a historic moment

06:51 to explore investment opportunities

06:53 between Kenya and the United States.

06:56 And, Mr. President, under your leadership,

06:59 we believe that as we celebrate these 60 years

07:05 of relationship between our two countries,

07:07 we also celebrate the opportunities

07:10 that come with a friendship

07:12 that exists between our two countries.

07:15 And as you have said correctly,

07:17 the space around artificial intelligence,

07:21 space around cybersecurity,

07:22 and investments that come with it,

07:25 we are expanding our footprint in the digital space.

07:32 We are rolling out 100,000 kilometers

07:38 of fiber optic in Kenya

07:40 and connecting every word and every village

07:43 to a fiber backbone to make sure that e-commerce,

07:52 digital jobs, and digital learning,

07:57 we can access to every child in Kenya.

08:03 And we are very proud that we are going to work

08:06 with American companies.

08:08 Last month, Secretary Raimondo was in Kenya,

08:14 and we agreed with her on the kind of investments,

08:17 the level of investment, the type of investment

08:19 that needs to be fashioned between our two sides.

08:24 And my being here today is a confirmation

08:27 that we are moving from ideas into action

08:31 and from opportunities into investments.

08:34 And hopefully, we will be able to sign off

08:37 some of those investments.

08:39 We have semiconductor companies here from Kenya.

08:43 We have large corporates, FinTech corporates in Kenya,

08:47 one of them M-Pesa,

08:49 and we are going to be discussing

08:51 the opportunities in that space,

08:53 and I look forward, Mr. President,

08:55 to consummating some of the discussions around this table

09:00 into concrete investments going into the future.

09:02 >> The President: Thank you all.

President Biden Meets With Kenyan President William Ruto

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