Kenya signed several pacts with the US during talks between US President Barack Obama and Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, signalling a deepening of bilateral relations in trade and investment.

Addressing a joint press conference, President Obama said discussions on the prospects of introducing direct flights between the two countries were ongoing.

“It is our hope that this will be actualised very soon so that we can ease the movement of people and goods between the two countries,” he said.

The two countries also came up with an action plan that will see increased financial support for the military, judiciary and police. It is also expected that the Kenyan military will receive counterterrorism aid under the Peacekeeping Operations programme through the Partnership for Regional East Africa Counterterrorism.

Prior to the talks, Kenya was expected to seek more funding in addressing the current security challenges posed by Somalia-based Al Shabaab terror group.

In 2015, the country received $100 million in a US counter-terrorism aid package, up from $38 million the previous year. Out of this amount, $95.25 million will go to the military while the remaining $4.75 million goes to the police.

The bilateral talks also centred on the instability in the region because of current conflicts in South Sudan and Burundi, with President Obama calling on the warring South Sudan parties to hasten the signing of peace agreements.

“We have seen the elections carried out in Burundi against the wishes of the majority. It is our stand that these elections were not credible and we hope that both the Burundi government and opposition will enter into dialogue to unlock this political stalemate,” Mr Obama said.

The United States announced that Kenya will be part of the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe initiative (DREAM), which will see the country receive additional support to help it fight HIV/Aids and other communicable diseases. The initiative aims at reducing new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women.

President Kenyatta said that the health issues they had discussed were critical and hoped that the US support would boost the fight against HIV and Aids.

The question of corruption also formed a key part of their address, with President Obama saying he was happy with Kenya’s progress on fighting corruption. He added that the US had signed a joint commitment with Kenya in order to increase transparency and accountability between the two countries.“It is also important to note that clean energy is top of the US agenda and we also agreed to have an agreement on how we can help Kenya deal with the climate change challenges,” President Obama said.

On poaching and wildlife, the US is proposing a new rule that will see a ban on sale of illegal ivory across all states, a move that is geared to help Kenya in its war against elephant and rhino poaching.

On gay rights, President Obama called on Kenyan government to respect the rights of all law abiding citizens.