President Joe Biden welcomed Kenyan President William Ruto to the White House on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, as part of a three-day state visit, at a time when Nairobi is finalizing, with Americans and other partners in the international community, the deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, which has been plagued by violent outbreaks by criminal gangs since late February.

President Biden, speaking alongside his counterpart, hailed the 60-year partnership whose strength lies in the two peoples. "Today, we honor 60 years of relations between our two countries. It is clear that our two peoples are the true forces behind this successful partnership," said Joe Biden to his counterpart, who emphasized the enormous economic potential of his country, Kenya, and Africa in general. Furthermore, Biden praised the support of the Kenyan people and President William Ruto in "upholding democracy." Kenya has agreed to lead this multinational security assistance mission and provide around 1,000 police officers to join an expected force of 2,500 personnel from the Bahamas, Barbados, Benin, Chad, and Bangladesh. Ruto's decision to send police forces to Haiti was hailed by a senior Biden administration official as an unprecedented endeavor and a testament to Kenya's global leadership.