Biden to visit sub-Saharan Africa soon

Washington, The Gulf Observer: President Joe Biden said Thursday he will soon make a visit to sub-Saharan Africa, announcing bare details of his travel plans as he wrapped up a U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit stressing that he’s serious about increasing U.S. attention to the growing continent.

Biden said he will also be dispatching many of his top advisers to Africa including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

“I’m looking forward to seeing you in your home countries,” Biden said to the leaders.

The visit will be Biden’s first of his presidency to sub-Saharan Africa. He made a brief stop in November in Egypt–which spans across the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia– for an international climate summit. The president did not detail which countries he will visit or exactly when the trip will happen.

In the first two years of his presidency, Biden’s international travel has focused on Asia and Europe, as he has sought to recalibrate his foreign policy to put greater focus on the Indo-Pacific. He has also had to deal with the fallout of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Biden on Thursday pledged $165 million in U.S. funding to support peaceful, credible elections in Africa next year as his administration looked to underscore the importance of fair voting in countries where it sometimes has been blighted by violence.

The White House announced the elections-funding plan after Biden met on Wednesday with Democratic Republic of the Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba, Liberia President George Manneh Weah, Madagascar President Andry Nirina Rajoelina, Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari and Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio to discuss their countries’ voting in 2023.

The White House said in a statement that Biden, in his meeting with the leaders, reflected on the state of democracy in his own country after last year’s Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. That’s when supporters of then-President Trump violently sought to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Biden.

“Together the leaders discussed the challenges of holding elections and exercising the right to vote, including foreign interference and political violence, and shared best practices for how to manage these risks and ensure transparency and public confidence in the electoral process,” the White House statement said. “The elections in Africa in 2023 will be consequential.”

Biden on Twitter added that the leaders spoke about “the importance of holding free, fair, and transparent elections, and of working together to strengthen democracy globally.”

The upcoming elections in African nations are seen as important indicators of the strength of democracy across the continent.