By Enyichukwu Enemanna
US Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday arrived Ghana for the commencement of a weeklong visit to Africa which seeks to deepen U.S. relationships amid global competition over the future of the continent.
Harris said she is in Africa to promote economic growth and food security, and welcomed the chance to ”witness firsthand the extraordinary innovation and creativity that is occurring on this continent.”
The presence of Harris who was received by schoolchildren, dancers and drummers, further cements the cordial relationship between her country and Africa.
“We are looking forward to this trip as a further statement of the long and enduring very important relationship and friendship between the people of the United States and those who live on this continent,” Harris said.
“What an honor it is to be here in Ghana and on the continent of Africa,” Harris said. “I’m very excited about the future of Africa.”
Harris is the highest-profile member of President Joe Biden’s administration to visit Africa this year. After Ghana, she plans to visit Tanzania and Zambia. She returns to Washington on April 2.
The expanded outreach is intended to counter China’s influence, which has become entrenched in recent years through infrastructure initiatives, lending money and expanding telecommunications networks.
Ghana, for example, reached a $2 billion deal with a Chinese company to develop roads and other projects in return for access to a key mineral for producing aluminum.
Most of Harris’ events in Ghana will focus on young people. Africa’s population has a median age of 19.
On Monday, she plans to visit a skate park and co-working space that has a recording studio for local artists. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, who is accompanying her on the trip, will hold a town hall meeting with actors from a local television show and attend a girls basketball clinic.
Before leaving for Tanzania on Wednesday, Harris will meet with women entrepreneurs and Emhoff will tour a chocolate company that was founded by two sisters.
