US President Joe Biden is expected to designate Kenya as a major non-Nato ally during a three-day state visit by Kenyan President William Ruto this week, a source familiar with the plans said.

Kenya would be the first sub-Saharan African country to receive the designation, reflecting Washington’s drive to deepen relations with the East African nation, which has long also had close relations with Russia and China.

As he welcomed Ruto to the White House for a meeting with business executives, Biden told reporters he planned to visit Africa in February, following the US presidential election. The two leaders will meet again in the Oval Office on Thursday, followed by a joint news conference and a state dinner.

Senior administration officials said Biden and Ruto would discuss a range of issues from trade to debt relief and the way forward for Haiti, Ukraine, Sudan and other areas during their meeting.

On Wednesday, Biden said he and Ruto would launch a new era of technology co-operation between the two countries that would include work on cyber security, artificial intelligence and semiconductors. He did not mention the security designation.

The US will also announce $250m (R4.59bn) in new investments through the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), expanding the US financing agency’s portfolio in Kenya to over $1bn (R18.37bn), DFC said.

Both countries share a commitment to ensuring technology is developed and deployed in a manner that advances transparency, accountability, and human rights, a US official said.

Kenya, like the US, has become “an engine for innovation”, the official said, citing its $1bn “Silicon Savannah” technology hub that is home to more than 200 start-ups spanning a range of sectors including clean energy, microelectronics, financial technology and e-commerce.

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