poorest countries. and when you are in debt having to find someone to help you out. we believe supporting friends and this partnership is happy and happy to do our part. and look, we have doubled our commitment to the idea and i am proud the united states the biggest donor and proud to be working along side with kenya address their investment needs. there is debt and growth and you have to deal with the debt before the growth and trying to use lending organizations to provide that capability so people can grow. that's what it's about.

[indiscernible chatter] >> this concludes the press conference. thanks everybody.[[captions copl cable satellite corp. 2024] >> thanks everybody, this concludes the press conference. thank you. thanks

>> a look now for the state dinner.

decor includes fuchsia and african orchids and american to civilize the friendship between america and kenya. >> this olive oil is from california and tomatoes are from ohio.

so most of our produce is from around the country. for the main course, we are doing the best of both worlds. lobster poached in butter, a great combination. in short ribs marinated and lightly smoked. wonderful corn puree and roasted turnips, sweet potatoes and squash. we wanted them to have seafood and also to make sure that we take care of our guests who are vegetarians and begin, so we have wonderful dishes for them. >> i say welcome to all of you, so excited to have you here today. excited to share desserts for

the kenya state dinner. we did a homemade white chocolate basket and inside is nectarine paste which we made with vector readings into a thick paste. and then we have banana ganache and on top, raspberries, peaches and then surrounding is fresh raspberries -- fresh strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. then in the front, we have the united states flag in the kenyan flag. and then we also have lemon viola flowers and orange marmalade flowers. >> thank you. >> thank you.

>> [indistinct chatter]

>> guests arriving at the white house included members of congress and lester holt, national urban league president mark and former president bill clinton and hillary clinton. also in attendance was howard university gospel choir and brad paisley provided entertainment.

>> miss stephanie. >> you saw the menu on tv this morning. . the menu. >> what would be the word of the day? [laughter]

[indiscernible] >> bradley and andrew benjamin bradley. >> the honorable michael mccaul and miss catherine mccall.

mr. tracy bar caught. ms. tracy donovan. mr. franklin and dr. guzman. the honorable brian nelson, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

the honorable rufus gifford and dr. steven. welcome, cordova.

ms. tonio boyd. miss catherine womboi. miss elizabeth coscay. ms. labrata muhabi.

mr. andrew awili. mr. augustine. acting secretary of housing and urban development. mr. kevin young and miss cora. mr. kenneth and misses gina cooper.

miss tina and mr. cornell belcher. sarah biden and judy. miss ruth and mr. anthony. the honorable andre dickens and tracy wilson.

bishop daughtry and miss daughtry chambers. the honorable lisa jackson and miss alicia willed her. dr. valerie montgomery rice and mr. melvin rice. the honorable mark and miss

michelle wheeler. the honorable keisha bottoms and langston bottoms. >> i asked my son if he was going to hold my hand, he said absolutely not. >> mr. lester holt and misses karen holt.

>> i do not get out much. >> mr. doug mcmillon and misses shelley mcmillan. miss wawa and annie gathru. mr. damien hewitt and miss melissa hewitt. dr. gretchen and andrew will:.

the honorable stephen k benjamin and d andre benjamin. mr. allen. miss british a anderson and miss lisa walker. mr. ed meyer and miss amy ward meyer.

the honorable veronica escobar and miss lisa escobar. dr. elizabeth's beer and dr. andrew spear. mr. everett kelly and miss liz kelly. the honorable cavalier johnson, mayor of milwaukee and miss dominique johnson.

miss kimberly williams paisley and mr. brad paisley. >> i'm excited, it is great. it will be great. that's a good question. i'm going to start with american saturday night and then all bets are off. you never know. absolutely, good and bad. i think part of country music is dealing with it in a way that other formats don't, so it is great. have fun. >> mr. kendall martin.

the honorable mr. smith and misses spears. mr. brad smith and miss carolyn and brown. dr. shaw and misses shaw. we honorable mr. john bellinger and miss don belanger.

the honorable benjamin cardin and miss cardin. the honorable william jefferson clinton, or the second president and the honorable hillary clinton, 67 secretary of the united states. >> thank you.

>> the honorable cory booker and miss caroline booker. >> this is when we show them how sexy we are. [laughter] >> i'm with the greatest woman in the world, my mother. >> is this your first state dinner? >> thank you, thank you everybody.

>> the honorable vice president harris and mr. douglas.

miss melinda gates and mr. rory gates. mrs. denise and reverend henry. the honorable dr. elizabeth randle, deputy security advisor and dr. jeffrey randall. mr. alex soros and misses aberdeen.

miss araya and miss naroji. mr. david and miss krystle campbell. the honorable bill burns, director of central intelligence agency and miss elizabeth burns.

the honorable jon bascom, undersecretary of affairs. the honorable ryan montoya,

director of scheduling and miss joel perry. the honorable deb and miss naomi jermaine. the honorable benjamin, white house communications director and mr. dean lieberman. miss simone townsend and mr. sean townsend. the honorable mr. johnson and miss tony johnson. miss didi and dr. dallas lea.

the honorable cedric richmond and racquel richmond. dr. francis draper and mr. andre draper.

[indistinct chatter] >> the honorable joshua, legal advisor to the security council and ms. moon.

the honorable rafael warnock, united states senator and miss donna burke. mr. john hope brian and misses ryan. the honorable christian, director of digital strategy and miss erica. the honorable dr. brainard,

director of the national economic council. general charles brown, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and miss sharon brown. >> thank you, great gown. >> mr. darnell and miss michaela cole. >> it is from a sudanese friend of mine. she gave it to me. yeah, i'm really excited and happy to be here.

>> what are you going to say to the president? >> i'm going to think about it. it must be really tough because of the things that they juggle, i'm curious about that. my boyfriend darnell, i'm from ghana and it would be amazing to meet the president of kenya. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> the honorable gregory meeks, united states representative and miss simone marie meeks.

>> i come from queens. we have everyone there. >> miss nelson. miss linda lipson and stevens stole. the honorable white house press secretary. >> a friend of mine made this

dress. >> oyeh bassu and miss bassu. >> and now a photo opportunity for the bidens and their guests of honor in front of the white house staircase before being escorted to the dinner. ♪

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>> as is custom we will hear the toast from president biden and president ruto, highlighting the alliance. the last time a kenyan leader was honored was 2003. no african nation has had one since george w. bush hosted ghana's president in 2008. >> welcome to the white house. the white house never looked this good. [applause] >> there's a bright light in the white house tonight, impressive and accommodating. jill and i are honored to have you here, representing the

members of the african diaspora. one just left. you have been very gracious. you met the president this morning, he was here a while ago. what i would like to do, president ruto, we share a strong respect for the history we can access together. president carter was the first president to host leaders of kenya at an official breakfast -- excuse me, dinner. and he said -- your counterpart said that he called the two nations neighbors and like neighbors -- i've got to get his quote right. like neighbors he said, we do not share borders, but we share beliefs in democracy, dignity,

and equality and we want to share that with everyone here. these shared beliefs give our nations strength and let me end with a toast, an irish toast if you do not mind an irish toast. made the road rise to meet you, may the wind always be at your back and the sunshine warm on your face. may the rains fall softly until we meet again, may god hold you in the palm of his hand. to kenya. enjoy your dinner.

>> thank you, thank mr. president. i thank you, mr. president for your invitation for me to undertake this visit. we have received the hospitality of the american people. it has been exceptional. the openness, goodwill and generosity of the american people greatly enhances our appreciation of your achievements and in keeping this

nation as a thriving global powerhouse and it magnifies our experience of the beauty, of the greatness of this land. we are proud of the robust economic security, people to people ties between our two nations and their shared values, which form a very strong bond of friendship between us. we gather here on behalf of the people of our nation to further strengthen friendship, solidarity and mutual endeavors

that have united us for many decades. this partnership has cap a strong. in our pursuit of friendship, we take a firm stance for democracy in a world where troubles have shaken the faith of many. for security as the he encz in of freedom for all of creation -- hope, trust, enterprise and innovation. and for prosperity, for the ultimate good of our nations and

our people, so richly deserve. i am encouraged by our achievements over the past 60 years which have given people hope, saved lives, increased wealth in investment and made the world more integrated and secure. what we have accomplished is nothing short of phenomenal. we can now face a complex and challenging future with great confidence in the knowledge that our collective commitment to our shared values and as long as we hold our ground and stay the course we will deliver to our

people a world in which it is safe to dream, to work and to prosper. madame first lady, you have been so kind. we have shared your home for days and have been treated with manifest generosity. this is a warm, wonderful, beautiful place and we are blessed to have been privileged to visit. it is now my daughter to ask you ladies and raise your glasses and join me in a toast to the well-being and long life of president joe biden and first lady, jill biden.

for the continued security of the people of the united states and the interring bonds of friendship, and solidarity of kenya and the united states. to the president.