US President Donald Trump on Monday hosted his Kenyan counterpart President Uhuru Kenyatta at the White House in the first ever bilateral talks between the two leaders which focused on tourism, trade relations and security.

Speaking at the Oval Office during the historic talks, President Trump thanked Kenyatta for his presence and praised Kenya terming the East African nation as one of the most beautiful countries which the US had a lot of business with.

"We have lots of pictures and lots of people that tell me how beautiful your country is. And we do a lot of tourism. We do a lot of trade. And we do a lot of defense and security. And we’re working very much on security right now. And I appreciate you very much being with us and your staff. This is really great. Your representatives have been dealing with our representatives and making a lot of progress. We’re talking about a very major highway/roadway. And that seems to be going along well. That’s a very important project, I think, for your country," Trump stated.

Strong relations

President Kenyatta on his part thanked Trump for his warm welcome and reiterated Kenya's strong relations with the US which he said stretched back all the way back to independence.

"We are here to cement that partnership. We are here to strengthen the support we have received as a country, especially with regards to our security and defense cooperation has been immense," Kenyatta affirmed.

Kenyatta cited the importance of trade and investment partnership as the key to Kenya's survival which was what the two nations should work to deepen more going forward.

President Trump assured that his administration will continue to work with Kenya to grow their partnerships in trade, investments and security.