(Bloomberg) — Prominent technology and finance leaders gathered in Washington for a dinner honoring Kenyan President William Ruto, a glitzy affair that spotlighted President Joe Biden’s efforts to bolster U.S. economic ties with Africa and counter Chinese and Russian influence across the continent.
President Ruto's state dinner was the first to be attended by an African leader in 16 years, and the guest list highlighted the Administration's outreach to Africa and its commitment to increasing U.S. investment in the region. Notable technology leaders in attendance at the lavish dinner included Microsoft President Brad Smith, Alphabet Inc. President and CFO Ruth Porat, former Meta Platforms COO Sheryl Sandberg, and Teneo Inc.'s Ursula Burns.
Ruto's visit is focused on securing private investment in the country. She met with Polat and Burns on Wednesday to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in the technology sector.
Attendees will be treated to a three-course meal including chilled heirloom tomato soup, beef short ribs, butter-braised lobster and a white chocolate basket for dessert, accompanied by wines from California and Oregon.
Guests will dine in a pavilion on the White House's South Lawn amid American roses, fuchsias and purple African orchids and enjoy performances by the Howard Gospel Choir and Grammy Award-winning country music artist Brad Paisley, who will pay tribute to Root and his wife, Rachel Root's, love of gospel and country music.
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were also in attendance.
Also receiving coveted invitations were David Bonderman of private equity firm TPG Capital, Pfizer Chairman Albert Bourla and Walmart CEO Doug McMillon. From the sports world, invitations were received by National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell, National Basketball Association President Adam Silver, StubHub co-founder Eric H. Baker and Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri.
Other attendees included prominent civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund President Janai Nelson, and prominent philanthropist Melinda French Gates.
Africa has increasingly become a focal point of the economic rivalry between the U.S. and China as the world's two largest economies compete for access to critical mineral resources. Biden has positioned Washington as a better partner for African countries seeking investment and has criticized Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative for saddleing developing countries with billions of dollars in debt.
According to a White House official, the U.S. is proposing to make Kenya the first African country to receive funding from the Semiconductor and Science Act. The administration will also work with Congress to commit $1 million in aid to Kenya to support the assembly, testing and packaging of its semiconductor sector.
Google said Thursday it is laying the first undersea fiber-optic cable directly between Africa and Australia, boosting internet connectivity in one of the world's least connected regions. Microsoft also announced plans this week to build a $1 billion geothermal-powered data center in Kenya as part of a multi-year plan to significantly increase cloud computing capacity in East Africa.
Regional leaders have long complained about U.S. inaction, but Biden has signaled his determination to reverse that, even as other countries besides Russia and China move to fill the vacuum, complicating U.S. efforts.
Celebrities attending the dinner included actor Sean Penn, Leading Rainbow and Star Trek: The Next Generation star LeVar Burton, and That '70s Show's Wilmer Valderrama, as well as media figures including NBC News' Lester Holt and author Barbara Kingsolver.
Thursday's dinner will be Biden's sixth since taking office. Last month, Biden honored Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
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