US President Joe Biden is slated to meet Thursday with his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta, the first African leader invited to the White House under the current administration.
The two leaders will discuss “the strong US-Kenyan bilateral relationship and the need to bring transparency and accountability to domestic and international financial systems,” the White House said ahead of the meeting.
The meeting was announced shortly after the release of the Pandora Papers, a journalistic investigation that exposed secret offshore accounts linked to politicians and businesspeople all over the world.
The investigation revealed that Kenyatta — who has stated his intent to fight corruption — is believed to own, together with six family members, a network of 11 offshore companies, one of which is valued at $30 million.
Asked about the findings and how they might affect Biden’s meeting with Kenyatta, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: “The president has been quite vocal as you all know about the inequalities in the international financial system.”
“That doesn’t mean we don’t meet with people you have disagreements on,” she said. “We have a range of interests in working with Kenya and working with them on issues in Africa, in the region, and that will be the primary focus.”
