Foreign Affairs Minister Monica Juma Meets Top US Gov't Officials Ahead of President Uhuru Visit to the US

Kenya's Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma on Thursday held talks with top United States government officials ahead of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to White House.

Juma led a Kenyan delegation to the US on Wednesday to prepare ground for much-anticipated meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Kenyatta at the Oval House on Monday.

In a tweet, US State Department said Secretary of State Michael Richard Pompeo welcomed Ms Juma on Thursday afternoon.

“Live now! @SecPompeo meets with welcomes #Kenya’s net Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Monica Juma at the State Department,” the State Department said on Twitter.

The 45-minute meeting with Pompeo came hours after Ms Juma held talks with Trump’s Special Assistant and Senior Director for Africa, Cyril Sartor and Ambassador Tibor Nagy who is the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. She later met the US Under Secretary for Defence, David Tranchtenberg.

President Kenyatta is scheduled to arrive in the US on Saturday ahead of his meeting with President Trump.

“Kenya is a vital partner of the United States and President Trump looks forward to discussing ways to broaden the strategic partnership based on our shared democratic values and mutual interests,” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement on August 6th, while confirming the meeting between Trump and Kenyatta.

“The meeting between the two leaders will reaffirm the longstanding relationship between the United States and Kenya as a cornerstone of peace and stability in Africa and the broader Indo-Pacific region,” she added.