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Donald Trump will welcome Kenya’s Uhuru
Kenyatta to the White House on Monday for what will be only the second
one-on-one meeting the US president has held with an African leader since he
took office last year.
The first meeting, with Nigeria’s
ailing 75-year-old Muhammadu Buhari in April, ended with the US president
telling aides he never wanted to meet someone so lifeless again, according to
three people familiar with the matter.
Advocates of closer US-Africa ties
hope his encounter with the younger, more urbane Mr Kenyatta, 56, will breathe
fresh life into a relationship with a region that Washington is seen to have
neglected as other countries, notably China, develop ever-closer trade and
investment ties with the continent.
Under Emmanuel Macron, France is
also trying to reset its relationship with its former colonies in Africa and
deepen commercial ties with bigger economies in the Anglo sphere, such as
Nigeria and South Africa.
“Trump likes chemistry,” said
a person in touch both with senior US administration officials and the Kenya
delegation preparing for Monday’s meeting. “Africa has never been high on
his radar but if the big guy likes you he’ll find a way to make things work.”
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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