Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosted Kenyan President William Ruto at the Pentagon to honor the robust, longstanding security partnership between the United States and the Republic of Kenya. Secretary Austin and President Ruto celebrated President Biden's intent to designate Kenya as a Major Non-NATO Ally, recognizing Kenya's significant contributions and sacrifices to peace and security globally.
The Secretary thanked President Ruto for his country's leadership of the Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti. Secretary Austin highlighted this week's signing at the U.S. Department of State of the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Kenya on Manda Bay airfield construction, echoing the U.S. commitment to significantly expand the facilities in coastal Kenya near the Somali border which further advance our shared counterterrorism goals. Both leaders agreed to build on the decades of collaboration between the United States and Kenya.