Vice President Kamala Harris will seek to deepen and reshape US ties to Africa during a weeklong visit, the latest and highest-profile outreach by the Biden administration to counter China’s growing influence.
Harris, who is traveling with her husband, Doug Emhoff, plans to visit Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia, focusing on economic development, climate change, food security, and a growing youth population. He is scheduled to reach Ghana’s capital Accra on Sunday.
“For too long, the US foreign policy establishment has treated Africa like some kind of extra credit project and not part of the main curriculum,” said Michelle Gavin, an Africa Council on Foreign Relations and a former US ambassador to Botswana. expects. “I see a huge effort now to change that thinking. But it takes time.”
In Africa, Harris will be seen as the first person of color and the first woman to serve as the US Vice President. Her mother was born in India and her father was born in Jamaica; Harris was raised in California.
“Everyone is excited about Kamala Harris,” said Idayat Hassan, director of the Center for Democracy and Development in Abuja, Nigeria. “You can be anything you put your mind to — that’s what she represents to so many of us.”
A centerpiece of Harris’ visit will be a speech in Accra and a visit to Cape Coast Castle, where enslaved Africans were once loaded onto ships bound for America. Harris also plans to meet with leaders of each country she visits and lay a wreath commemorating the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Tanzania’s capital, Dar es Salaam.
Her itinerary also includes a number of less traditional stops aimed at highlighting the dynamic future of a continent where the average age is just 19 years old.
Harris plans to visit a recording studio and meet women entrepreneurs in Accra and stop by a tech incubator in Dar es Salaam. In Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, Harris is expected to meet business and philanthropic leaders to talk about increasing access to digital and financial systems.
The hope, administration officials said, is to portray Africa as a place for investment, not just an aid package, a theme that Harris emphasized during the US-Africa summit in Washington in December.
“I am optimistic about what lies ahead for Africa and, by extension, for the world because of you – your energy, your ambition, and your ability to transform seeming problems into opportunities,” she said. “Simply put your ability to see what could be, free from what has been.”
The trip includes three nights in Ghana, two nights in Tanzania, and one night in Zambia before Harris returns to Washington on April 2.
“This is a journey about supporting reformers,” said Wanda Feldbach-Brown, co-director of the Africa Security Initiative at the Brookings Institution. “All three countries are going through significant challenges and significant changes.”
Ghana is facing a debt crisis and high inflation, dragging down what was once one of the region’s strongest economies. It is also wary about instability from Islamic militants and Russian mercenaries who operate in nations north of Ghana.
Tanzania has its first female president and has lifted the ban on opposition parties and rallies. Zambia has made its own changes, such as decriminalizing defamation of the president. However, democratic progress in both places is considered fragile.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and First Lady Jill Biden have already visited Africa on their respective trips. President Joe Biden is expected to visit later this year.
Harris is returning to Zambia for the first time since she visited as a young girl when her maternal grandfather worked there. He was an Indian civil servant who helped with refugee resettlement after Zambia gained independence from Britain.
Harris writes in her book that “Grandfather was one of my favorite people in the world and one of the earliest and most lasting influences in my life.”
The US-Africa summit held in December was the only one since 2014 that was hosted by President Barack Obama. Although Washington’s approach to Africa has had some historic successes—for example, President George W. Bush’s initiative to fight HIV/AIDS has saved millions of lives—there have also been periods of neglect.
“There is enormous skepticism and skepticism about America’s staying power,” said Daniel Russell, a former State Department official who is now at the Asia Society Policy Institute. “They are very familiar with American promises that go out and don’t amount to much.”
This is a sharp contrast with China, which has pioneered far-reaching infrastructure projects and expanded telecom operations there as well.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said last week that African leaders “are beginning to realize that China is not really their friend.”
“China’s interests in the region are purely selfish as opposed to those of the United States,” he added. “We are truly committed to helping our African friends address the challenges they face.”
Senior administration officials have been careful not to portray Harris’ trip as another step in geopolitical rivalry, an approach that could alienate African leaders who are wary of taking sides among global superpowers.
Now they wait to see what Harris and the United States can offer next week.
“She has a very good reputation in Africa because of her profile,” said Rama Yede, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center. “But beyond that, very quickly, public opinion in the three countries will have expectations.”