Joe Biden plans first visit to sub-Saharan Africa
- The US president’s international travel has so far focused on Asia and Europe; his predecessor Trump did not visit Africa during his term
- Biden is emphasising US attention on the region as he wraps up a three-day summit with African leaders
US President Joe Biden on Thursday said he will soon make a visit to sub-Saharan Africa, announcing bare details of his travel plans as he wrapped up a US-Africa Leaders Summit stressing that he is serious about increasing US attention on 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 Yellinand Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
“I’m looking forward to seeing you in your home countries,” Biden said.
The visit will be Biden’s first to sub-Saharan Africa of his presidency. 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 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.