The First Lady of the United States, Jill Biden, will visit Namibia and Kenya this week “
to strengthen partnerships
” with Washington on the African continent, the White House said on Tuesday, February 21.
The trip comes on the heels of the December Africa Summit in Washington, where US President Joe Biden called for a broad partnership with Africa, and as the United States seeks to assert their presence on the continent in the face of Chinese investment.
From February 22 to 26, Jill Biden's scheduled meetings and talks will focus on "
women and youth, efforts to address food insecurity and the promotion of our shared democratic values
", said the president. US executive in a statement.
This will be Jill Biden's first visit to Namibia and her third to Kenya, the White House said.
"We cannot succeed without the leadership and participation of Africa"
"
The world is facing major challenges including problems caused by climate change, the stigma of the pandemic and the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine for food security and our shared values," said a US
official .
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“
We believe that African governments and people will and should be seated around the table for these important discussions.
We cannot succeed without African leadership and participation
,” he added.
In Kenya, Jill Biden must in particular speak about the historic drought overwhelming the Horn of Africa and plunging millions of people into hunger.
