The American Vice President Kamala Harris she arrived in Africa, her first tour institutional meeting to convince the African authorities that American rapprochement is in the interest of development and growth and not to thwart the expansionist aims of China and Russia.
Harris' nine-day trip will touch Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia, chosen because they are trying to maintain democracy in the face of economic pressures rocking the continent, White House officials told the WP. Harris had previously met the leaders of the three countries at the US-Africa summit in Washington last December.
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White House spokesman John Kirby he told reporters that “Africa matters, the continent matters, and our relationships across the continent matter. So it's very much about Africa – African leaders, African nations – and not about anyone else."
Harris' journey is one more step in trying to mend the rift created by Donald Trump who has never visited the continent and whose reference to the "countries of shit" in a closed meeting in 2018, it was seen by many Africans as directed at them in an offensive manner.
In addition to hosting the African summit, President Biden announced American support for the desire of the African Union, which represents 55 states, to become a permanent member of the G20.
The Lady Jill biden visited the Namibia and Kenya last February while the secretary of state Antony blinken he went to Niger ed Ethiopia this month. Even the Secretary of the Treasury Janet L Yellen and the UN ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield have visited Africa while the president Biden should go there this year. Harris, however, has one more card, a kind of ace up his sleeve to break the ice and soften the positions of some African states: she was the first black woman to win nationally elected office in the United States and is of Indian and Jamaican ancestry. Harris will go to Lusaka, Zambia, where her maternal grandfather worked as a civil engineer and where she stayed as a child.
While American rhetoric and engagement have increased, questions remain about how much US policy toward Africa will actually change under the Biden administration. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has dominated the administration's foreign policy, and the president has repeatedly suggested that the effort to counter China's economic and military influence is at the heart of his overall strategy. Biden said this moment in world history is about the battle between democracies and autocracies.
But it is difficult to unhinge the Chinese influence in Zambia. Over the past few years, China has built a world-class international convention center, a major public hospital, and a national stadium, all built at no cost to the local government.
Africa abandoned during and after the coronavirus pandemic. Many African nations have been hit hard by the economic effects of the pandemic and have felt left behind in vaccine distribution – they have received vials close to deadline and without the necessary storage or distribution capacity to vaccinate as many people as possible.
The war in Ukraine has posed another challenge to African nations. Many countries in the global south bore the brunt of the economic turmoil of the war and they have faced shortages of fertiliser, fuel and food, often blaming Western sanctions. Many nations therefore did not vote in favor of UN resolutions condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine.
During his trip, Harris plans to announce new investments in Africa, generally, as well as specific projects in the three countries he's visiting, administration officials told WP.
The United States is trying to have an impact in Africa but with efforts that are still unclear in terms of extent and long-term strategy. Opposite is China which, within its Belt and Road InitiativeInstead, it has invested billions of dollars in Africa to build ports, railways, power plants and other projects across the continent.
Biden administration officials admit the delay and that it will be difficult to counter Russia and China. The references are also historical because many African liberation movements that have risen to power have been supported by the former Soviet Union, while the United States has sometimes supported right-wing forces which, during their tenure, have systematically violated respect for human rights.
Zambia and Tanzania they practiced socialism after the end of colonial rule, providing refuge and aid to the forces anti-apartheid South Africans at a time when the president Ronald Reagan vetoed legislation anti-apartheid in favor of a “constructive engagement”. Those memories are still very much alive for some Africans.
In Africa, however, there are not only China and Russia but also Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and India.
This greatly complicates the American effort in trying to make up for lost time, in the face of a total absence of the European Union which is still unable to recognize the opportunities of the Black Continent, receiving in return only important migratory flows that are difficult to continue to manage if the trend recorded in the first months of this year continues.