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US First Lady Jill Biden arrives in Kenya for two-day visit
Friday February 24 2023
US First Lady Jill Biden is received by her counterpart Rachel Ruto and the EAC Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano at JKIA in Nairobi on February 24, 2023. PHOTO | SILA KIPLAGAT | NMG
The First Lady of the United States, Dr Jill Biden, has jetted into the country aboard Executive One Foxtrot, a military plane.
Dr Biden’s plane touched down at 4:28 pm at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to an expectedly tight security and rousing welcome by government officials alongside traditional dancers.
The Professor of English is set to be received by First Lady Rachel Ruto ahead of an event-packed first visit to the country as Flotus.
Dr Biden’s visit is in line with the resolutions of the recent US-Africa Summit in Washington in which President Joe Biden promised more engagements with Africa.
And a statement from the White House indicated the trip to Namibia and Kenya from February 22 to 26 will “strengthen the United States’ partnerships on the African continent, and advance our shared priorities in the region.”
“Dr Biden’s engagements will focus on the empowerment of women and youth, efforts to address food insecurity, and promoting our shared democratic values,” the dispatch said.
In Kenya, she is to discuss the response to drought which has so far affected more than half of the counties in the country.