On Wednesday, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with Ghanaian women business owners to talk about leadership and economic empowerment. This will be her final engagement in Accra before continuing her week-long African tour in Tanzania.
After Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Harris is the most recent US official to travel to an African nation as Washington attempts to offset the rise of Chinese and Russian influence on the continent.
Harris has met President Nana Akufo-Addo since arriving in Ghana on Sunday, attended a state banquet, spoken to students about innovation and women’s empowerment, and visited a “slave fortress” that served as the last stop for thousands of Africans trafficked into the transatlantic slave trade.
After her roundtable with female entrepreneurs, she is due to leave Ghana and take a flight to Dar es Salaam, the commercial hub of Tanzania, where she will see President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday and fulfill other obligations.
She will travel to Zambia on Friday, where she will meet President Hakainde Hichilema and take part in other activities. She is scheduled to depart Zambia on Saturday and return to the US on Sunday.