Tight Security as Kenya Rolls Out Red Carpet for ObamaU.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Kenya Friday evening, amid extremely tight security, for the start of a landmark two-day visit. Security forces have been patrolling the capital which has been put on a virtual lockdown for Obama's first visit to the country as president.\n\nThe streets of Nairobi have been painted and polished as the city has spared no expense to welcome Obama for what Kenyans have called his "homecoming." Host Vincent Makori of VOA’s TV program Africa 54, reported that just hours ahead of Obama’s arrival, all indications of a presidential visit were evident. “Just a few hours before the president arrived, suddenly all stores, all shops, there were no people in the streets, no cars, which is unlike the character of Nairobi on a Friday night. So it was noticeable that something big was about to happen.” No media source currently available The big headline for the visit is a Global Entrepreneurship Summit - the first time it is being held in Africa. President Obama, as co-host - will address the gathering on Saturday.\n\nKenya also has special significance for the U.S. president. His father, the late Barack Hussein Obama, was born and is buried in rural western Kenya and served in the government of Kenya's first president. Obama last visited in 2006 as a U.S. senator, but, this is his first trip as president and that, says Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto, means a lot to his country.\n\n"President Obama is not just any other American president. He has African roots, and more specifically Kenyan roots, and so it is significant in a very different way," Ruto said. Obama’s visit to Kenya comes late in his presidency, with speculation attributing the delay to possibly allegations of corruption and earlier indictments by the International Criminal Court against President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, for crimes against humanity. Though charges against President Kenyatta were dropped, those against Ruto are still pending. Security concerns\n\nWhile much of the visit will focus on boosting trade, the other big issue on the agenda will be security when Obama meets President Uhuru Kenyatta Saturday.\n\nKenyan Foreign Secretary Amina Mohamed says it is a common top concern.\n\n"Our collaboration, especially on security, is historic. It's always been there, but of course we've enhanced it a lot in the last few years because of the threat the global threat actually - that we all face," Mohamed said.\n\nKenya has been targeted repeatedly by the Somali militant group al-Shabab. The deadliest attack took place at Garissa University College in April, when 148 people, most of them students, were slaughtered on campus.\nAfter two days in Kenya, Obama will become the first U.S. president to visit Ethiopia.\n\nAhead of his arrival in Africa, human rights groups urged the president to use his trip to call for fundamental human rights reforms in both countries.\n\nIn a letter to Obama, a group of 14 nongovernmental organizations and individual experts said the governments of Kenya and Ethiopia "face real security threats, but we are concerned by the way in which each government has responded, often with abusive security measures and increased efforts to stifle civil society and independent media."\n\nTrade with Africa\n\nLate Wednesday, President Obama spoke about trade with Africa at a White House reception marking the signing of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. He said despite Africa's challenges, the continent is a dynamic place with some of the fastest-growing markets in the world. He said it has the potential to be the next center of global economic opportunity.\n\nHe said the trade law will continue to encourage good governance, labor rights and human rights in Africa. Obama last month signed a 10-year extension of the country's main trade authority with Africa - a 15-year effort that boosted U.S.-Africa trade to $73 billion last year, with U.S. exports accounting for slightly more than half of that total.\n\nMore than 40 sub-Saharan countries are eligible for trade benefits under the law, through which most imports from Africa enter the United States duty free. Two of the main beneficiaries are oil exporters Angola and Nigeria.\n\nEven as U.S. trade with Africa has grown rapidly, it trails resource hungry China, now with $200 billion in annual African trade, and the 28-nation European Union with $140 billion.\n\nObama has made a concerted effort to increase U.S. ties with Africa. Last August, he staged the inaugural U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington.\n\nThe U.S. says the Africa trade measure supports an estimated 350,000 jobs. As the trade extension advanced in Congress, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and National Security Advisor Susan Rice said it has "provided vital economic opportunities," helping African companies become more competitive and opening the path for more investments in them.