United States (US) Vice President Kamala Harris is set to embark on her first visit to the African continent since taking office. She will depart Washington on Saturday evening and arrive in Accra, Ghana on Sunday afternoon.
During her trip, Vice President Harris will meet with Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday for bilateral talks. Later that day, she will visit a local recording studio and meet with young people in the creative industry.
On Tuesday, the Vice President will deliver a speech to a young audience and visit the Cape Coast slave castle to speak about the brutality of slavery and the African Diaspora.
On Wednesday, she will meet with women entrepreneurs in Accra to discuss the economic empowerment of women. It is expected that she will announce a series of continent-wide public and private sector investments to help close the digital gender divide and empower women economically.
Vice President Harris will then travel to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania before concluding her trip in Lusaka, Zambia. This visit marks the fifth major trip from a senior administration official since the summit, following visits by Secretary Yellen, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield, the First Lady, and Secretary Blinken.
Senior US administration officials say the Vice President is “visiting these three countries where the governments are investing in their democracies specifically at a time where we know there is a global democratic recession”.
“The United States views Africa as critical to addressing global challenges, and we view her visit as another opportunity to consult and engage with partners on our shared objectives,” the officials said in a press call on Friday, March 24, 2023.
