US Vice President Kamala Harris will begin her tour of Africa on Sunday to promote Washington’s positive vision for the continent.
Ms. Harris will visit Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia. The tour is part of the United States initiatives to strengthen ties with Africa.
Washington, which has long viewed Africa as a problem region rather than a land of opportunity, now sees the continent as “the future of the world”.
A senior US official who preferred to remain anonymous told the press that Washington would like to dispel misconceptions about what it means to live, work and invest in Africa, adding that Harris is confident that African innovation will shape the world’s future.
The tour is also aimed at curbing the growing presence of Beijing and Moscow on the resource-rich continent.
Harris’ tour, which is due to land in Ghana on Sunday, comes after other trips to Africa by members of President Joe Biden’s administration and his wife Jill Biden.
The trip, which will take the vice president to Tanzania on Wednesday and Zambia on Friday, has a special dimension. Ms. Harris is the first black person and the first woman to become Vice President of the United States.