WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to South Africa, Zambia and Senegal in January, her office announced Friday, marking the first of a series of official Biden administration visits to sub-Saharan Africa next year.
The world’s second largest continent is crucial to the global economy due to its rapidly growing population and significant natural resources. China’s deepening economic entrenchment in African nations, overtaking the US in trade with Africa to become one of the world’s largest creditors, is also a motivator for the US to deepen trade relations. ties with African nations.
President Joe Biden announced Thursday during a US summit with African leaders who plans to take a trip to the region next year, as do Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady Jill Biden and several cabinet secretaries.
Yellen, who will visit Africa from January 17 to 28, has spoken out at length in public about China’s financial practices on the continent, calling them “economic practices that have put us all at a disadvantage.”.”
Zambia, for example, is renegotiating its nearly $6 billion debt with China, its biggest creditor. During a closed-door meeting with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema at the Africa Leaders Summit on Thursday, Yellen said they discussed “the need to address debt sustainability and the imperative to conclude a debt treatment for Zambia”.
Treasury said Yellen will also discuss the spillover effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Africa’s food supply. Other topics will include how the US is working with African leaders to promote an energy transition that takes into account the impacts of climate change in Africa and how to prepare for future pandemics through the Pandemic Fund announced in June..
At this week’s summit, Biden announced plans to spend $2 billion to help bolster food security on the continent.
