The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, said on Sunday that the U.S. will increase investment in Africa to speed up economic growth and opportunity on the continent.
She said this when she arrived in Accra, Ghana, kicking off a week-long trip on the continent that would take her to Tanzania and Zambia.
“In particular on this trip, I intend to do work that is focused on increasing investment here on the continent and facilitating economic growth and opportunity, specifically in the areas of economic empowerment of women and girls, empowerment of youth entrepreneurship, digital inclusion, and to support the work that must be done to increase food security, including adaptation to the effects of the climate crisis,” she said.
Harris, who is on her first trip to Africa as Vice President, was met on arrival at the Kotoka International airport by her Ghanaian counterpart, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Foreign Minister Shirley Botchwey and a host of top Government functionaries.
The US Vice President told the gathering at the airport that her trip to Africa was a “further statement of the long and enduring cordial relations and friendship between the United States and those who live on the continent of Africa.”
She said she was excited about the impact of the future of Africa on the world, including the United States.
“When I look at what is happening on this continent and the fact that the median age is 19 years old and that tells us about the growth, of opportunity, of innovation, and of possibilities… I see in all of those great opportunities not only for the people of this continent but for the people of the world, especially when we understand that by the year 2050, one in four people on earth will be from Africa.
“So, I am here to address some of the issues that relate to the partnership between this continent, its people and the people of the United States, and to reinforce the work that we would continue to do together, be them on addressing the climate crisis, to supply chains and our work together in international rules and norms,” she stressed.
Harris will meet with President Nana Addo Darkwa Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House, Accra on Monday, March 24, where the two are expected to hold bilateral talks. She will also be hosted at a State Banquet later in the evening.
She said her talks with President Akufo-Addo and the leaders of the two other countries she would be visiting “will build on the previous meetings to strengthen democracy and good governance, promote peace and security, build on long-term economic growth and strengthen our business ties.”
The highlight of her three-day visit to Ghana will be her address at Independence Square on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, where she is expected to announce a series of continent-wide public and private sector investments to address the digital divide and empower women economically.
She will also meet with artists, entrepreneurs and students.
“I also look forward during this visit to meet entrepreneurs and artists, students and farmers, to witness first-hand the extra-ordinary innovation and creativity that is occurring on this continent and inspiring the world…we have a lot of work ahead of us and again I am so very excited to be here,” she said.
