WASHINGTON, Oct 14, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - 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 agenda was published 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.

  In the investigation, Kenyatta -- who has stated his intent to fight
corruption -- is said to own, together with six family members, a network of
eleven offshore companies, one of which is valued at $30 million.

  Asked about the revelations 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."

  The two leaders will also talk about "efforts to defend democracy and human
rights, advance peace and security, accelerate economic growth, and tackle
climate change," according to the White House Statement.

  Another issue on the agenda is trade.

  Former president Donald Trump's administration had started discussions with
Kenya on a free trade agreement but, according to Nairobi, Biden's team so
far hasn't resumed the negotiations, causing much frustration.

  "To our American friends, I would like to say that you know you cannot
start and stop a discussion with partners on the basis of one administration
after another," Kenyatta said earlier this week in New York. "Relationships
are between countries and people, not between administrations."

  Kenya is worried that a trade agreement that largely exempts its exports to
the United States from customs duties will expire in 2025.

  Washington, for its part, is concerned by the growing economic influence of
major rival China in Africa.

  But unlike Trump, who eagerly engaged in trade negotiations, Biden has so
far shown restraint on that front.

  For example, he gave no promises to Britain, which is also eager to sign a
free trade agreement with the United States.