Joe Biden Makes First Official Phone Call To East African Leader, Warns About Human Rights Violations

By Spy Uganda Correspond 

USA: US President Joe Biden on Thursday hailed President Uhuru Kenyatta’s leadership in the Horn of Africa in a maiden phone call after his inauguration as President.

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During the call, Biden affirmed the importance of a strong US-Kenya bilateral relationship.

Biden also emphasized that the US will work closely with Kenya to support regional peace and security including at the United Nation’s Security Council.

The President also applauded Kenya’s commitment to counterterrorism, economic growth and efforts to address climate change and sustainable development.

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According to a statement from the White House, the two leaders discussed the deteriorating humanitarian and human’s rights crises in Ethiopia’s Tigrey region and the need to prevent further loss of lives.

The two leaders pledged to cooperate on matters of regional stability.

During the call, Biden conveyed his interest in building on that partnership across a range of issues, including tackling the threat of climate change, supporting refugees and their host communities, and addressing challenges of regional security and instability.

President Uhuru expressed confidence that the conclusion of the ongoing negotiations for a Kenya-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will help further strengthen the strong economic ties between the two countries. Kenya is the fourth largest trading partner of the US in Africa.

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Kenya and the US launched the FTA negotiations on 8th July 2020 with the objective of reaching a comprehensive trade pact that can serve as a model for similar agreements in Africa.

“President Kenyatta thanked his American counterpart for the support Kenya continues to receive from the United States of America in sectors such as Healthcare, Economy, Security and Governance, and assured President Biden of the Kenyan Government’s strong commitment to continue working closely with the new US administration, read a statement from State House, Nairobi.

President Uhuru on December 1, 2020, phoned Joe Biden and congratulated him on winning the presidential election, weeks after the US went to the polls.

Biden’s administration has been making calls to various countries since he took over to give some sense of the President’s early priorities.

In Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa and Sudan are some of the countries that have received calls from Biden’s administration.