Vice President Kamala Harris arrival in Ghana.
As Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Ghana on Sunday, she was greeted by schoolchildren, dancers, and drummers. Her visit to Africa is intended to deepen U.S. relationships amid global competition over the continent’s future.
“We look forward to this trip as a further expression 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.
As she stepped off her plane after an overnight flight, the children cheered and waved Ghanaian and American flags. As she passed by the dancers, she smiled broadly and placed her hand on her heart.
“What an honor to be here in Ghana and on the African continent,” Harris said. “I’m very excited about Africa’s future,” she said, adding that she wanted to promote economic growth and food security and that she was looking forward to “witnessing firsthand the extraordinary innovation and creativity that is occurring on this continent.”
Vice President Kamala Harris weeklong visit to Africa (Photo: REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko)
Harris arrives at a difficult time for the West African country.
Ghana is one of the continent’s most stable democracies, but Harris arrives at a difficult time for the West African country. Its economy, which was among the fastest growing in the world prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, is now facing a debt crisis and soaring inflation, which is driving up the cost of food and other necessities.
Ghana, a country of 34 million people that is slightly smaller than Oregon, is also concerned about regional instability. Burkina Faso and Mali have both experienced coups in recent years, and local affiliates of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group operate in the Sahel region north of Ghana. Thousands of people have been killed, and millions more have been forced to flee their homes.
The fighting has created an opening for Wagner, a Russian mercenary outfit that maintains a presence in Africa despite its involvement in the invasion of Ukraine. Mali welcomed Wagner after driving out French troops, and there are fears that Burkina Faso will do the same.
Harris meets with Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo.
The economic and security challenges will almost certainly be discussed when Harris meets with Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, on Monday. They will also hold a joint press conference.
The two leaders have previously met twice, both times in Washington.
Akufo-Addo stated during their first meeting in September 2021, “our big challenge — and it is a challenge of all those who want to develop democratic institutions on our continent — is to ensure and reassure our people that democratic institutions can be a vehicle for the resolution of their big problem — that is economic development as a means to eradicate poverty on our continent.”
This year, Harris is the highest-profile member of President Joe Biden’s administration to visit Africa. She intends to visit Tanzania and Zambia after Ghana. She will be back in Washington on April 2.
The expanded outreach is intended to counter China’s growing influence in recent years through infrastructure projects, lending money, and expanding telecommunications networks. Ghana, for example, agreed to a $2 billion deal with a Chinese company to build roads and other infrastructure in exchange for access to a key mineral used in the production of aluminum.
Majority of Harris’ events in Ghana.
The majority of Harris’ events in Ghana will be geared toward youth. The median age of the African population is 19.
She plans to go to a skate park and co-working space with a recording studio for local artists on Monday. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, will accompany her on the trip and will attend a girls basketball clinic as well as a town hall meeting with actors from a local television show.
They will attend a state banquet with Ghana’s president and first lady in the evening.
Harris will deliver a speech and visit Cape Coast Castle on Tuesday, where enslaved Africans were once loaded onto ships bound for the Americas.
Harris will meet with female entrepreneurs before departing for Tanzania on Wednesday, and Emhoff will visit a chocolate company founded by two sisters. The company’s name, ’57 Chocolate,’ refers to the year Ghana gained independence.
According to Cameron Hudson, an Africa expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Ghana has been a “bright spot in the region,” but it is “facing some very stiff headwinds.”
He noted that the country’s southern region, which includes Accra, is predominantly Christian, whereas the northern region is predominantly Muslim, raising concerns that militants may expand their operations there.
“These terrorist organizations can prey on existing fault lines within these societies,” he explained.
According to Hudson, Ghanaian authorities have intercepted weapons shipments as well as human smugglers. There are occasional outbreaks of violence, and the number of incidents increased last year.
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